On November 10, Shraddha Walker’s father, Vikas Madan Walker, filed a missing person report at Mehrauli Police Station, South Delhi district. Based on his complaint, an FIR was registered by the police and an investigation was initiated to find Shraddha. During the investigation, the police found that Aftab Amin Poonawala, with whom Shraddha was in a live-in relationship, allegedly killed her in May. He reportedly chopped her into 35 pieces and disposed of them one by one.
Details of the FIR
In the FIR, Vikas said in 2018, Shraddha used to work at a call centre in Malad, Mumbai. Aftab was her colleague at the office. After eight or nine months, Shraddha’s parents came to know that she was in a relationship with Aftab.
In 2019, Shraddha told her mother that she wanted to have a live-in relationship with Aftab. As Vikas’s family is Hindu and Aftab is Muslim, they refused to allow her to get into a live-in relationship with him. Vikas said in the complaint that inter-caste or inter-religion marriages did not happen in his community.
However, Shraddha was adamant about her decision. The FIR noted after her parents announced their disapproval of the relationship with Aftab, she said, “I am 25 years old. I have full right to take my own decisions. I want to have a live-in relationship with Aftab. From today, you can think you never had a daughter.” She packed her belongings and left the house. Vikas and his wife late, Suman Madan Walker, tried to stop her, but she did not listen.
Shraddha’s friends informed the parents about her whereabouts from time to time. The FIR noted that her parents came to know that the duo had shifted to Naya Gaon and later to Vasai. Meanwhile, Shraddha started calling her mother and informed her that Aftab often fought with her and physically assaulted her as well.
On January 1, 2020, Shraddha’s mother Suman passed away. Around 20 days after her death, Shraddha called her father a couple of times. She informed him that Aftab had physically assaulted her. A month later, she met Vikas and said the same about Aftab. He requested her to leave Aftab and come back home. However, Aftab apologised to her, and she went back.
Later, her father contacted two of her friends, Shivani and Laxman, who informed him that the relationship between Shraddha and Aftab was not healthy, and he used to physically assault her. Vikas was not in contact with her daughter since she refused to return.
On September 14, Laxman called Vikas’s son Shreejay and informed her that he could not contact Shraddha for two months. On September 15, Vikas called Laxman. He told Shraddha’s father that he was in regular contact with Shraddha, but her phone had been switched off for the last two months. Vikas tried her phone, but it did not connect. He decided to file a complaint at Manikpur Police Station.
Manikpur Police transferred the case to Mehrauli Police Station and informed her father that the duo had shifted to Delhi. Vikas mentioned in his complaint that he tried finding his daughter but could not trace her. In his complaint, Vikas said, “The relationship between my daughter and Aftab was not good. I am confident that he is behind her disappearance. Either he has hidden her somewhere or has done something wrong.”
Police arrested Aftab for Shraddha’s murder
After filing FIR under Section 365 of the Indian Penal Code, the Delhi Police initiated an investigation. During the probe, they found out that Aftab had killed Shraddha in May this year. Reports suggest Aftab kept on changing his statements during questioning.
Aftab told police that the duo got into an argument, and he strangulated her. Later, he chopped her dead body into 35 pieces. He brought a new fridge to store the pieces. Aftab left his apartment with one piece of the dead body wrapped in plastic daily and disposed of it off in a forest area.
Reports suggest after murdering Shraddha, he installed a dating app and dated another woman. While Shraddha’s dead body pieces were in the fridge and kitchen, Aftab brought another woman to the apartment a few times on the date.