Man strangles live-in partner in Delhi, chops body into 35 pieces; held

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New Delhi, November 14

A 28-year-old man allegedly strangled his live-in partner, chopped her body into 35 pieces, kept them in a fridge for almost three weeks and then dumped them across the city over several days, the police have said.

Officials said the details of the “gruesome killing” came to light almost six months later with the arrest of Aftab Ameen Poonawala and chopped body parts have been found.

The police are looking for the murder weapon.

According to the police, Poonawala and Shraddha Walkar fell in love while they were working at a call centre in Mumbai, but their families objected to the relationship as they belonged to different religions. This prompted the couple to move to Mehrauli earlier this year, they said.

“Around mid-May, the couple had an argument over wedding, which escalated and Poonawala killed her,” Additional DCP-I, South District, Ankit Chauhan said.

“The accused then cut her body into more than 35 pieces. He bought a 300-litre fridge to preserve the body parts and stocked perfumes and room fresheners. He disposed of the pieces in different parts of the city over several days. He used to step out past midnight to dump the severed body parts,” he said.

The Additional DCP said the woman was not on proper talking terms with her family.

According to a complaint filed by the victim’s father in Mumbai, one of her friends informed them in September that the woman’s phone had been unreachable for two months. The complaint alleged that Poonawala used to beat up Walkar on occasions.

“The woman’s father called the accused up but was told that the couple had parted ways sometime back. Unable to contact his daughter, the man then filed a missing person complaint,” the police officer said.

Poonawala has been remanded in five-day police custody.