Fight over marriage, suspected affair: What happened on May 18, night of Shraddha’s murder in Delhi?

The harrowing and gruesome murder of Shraddha Walker was uncovered by the police in Delhi’s Mehrauli on Monday, with the crime being committed and planned by her live-in partner Aaftab Amin Poonawala.

28-year-old Aaftab was arrested by the Delhi police soon after the gory details of the murder were uncovered, where the man revealed that he had strangled his live-in partner Shraddha Walker in May earlier this year, and had disposed of her body after chopping it into 35 pieces.

Poonwala said that the couple was renting a two-bedroom flat in Chhattarpur Pahadi, and had been living there with Shraddha for several months. On May 18, the couple had a heated argument which ended with Aaftab strangling Shraddha and killing her.

What happened on May 18?

On May 18, Aaftab and Shraddha had a heated argument, where the latter accused him of having an affair and urged him to marry her. The argument was taking place in the bedroom of the Mehrauli apartment, where the fight got physical.

In the middle of the heated argument, Aaftab pinned down Shraddha and sat on her chest. He then strangled her which led to her death. Aaftab panicked and stayed awake the entire night, thinking of a way to get rid of her body.

Aaftab, who is a trained chef, used his training to chop up Walker’s body into 35 pieces using a hacksaw and formulated an elaborate plan for storing and disposing of her body over the next few days. The entire cleanup after the murder lasted around three months.

Poonawala said that he had watched several TV shows on murder and crime, through which he came up with a plan to get rid of Shraddha’s body. Aaftab purchased several blades for a hacksaw and used the tool to cut up Shraddha’s body in 35 pieces.

Apart from the tools used to cut up body parts, Aaftab also bought a fridge for Rs 19,000 on May 19, one day after murdering his partner. He stored Walker’s body parts in the fridge and disposed of them bit by bit by carrying them with him during 2 am walks in a nearby forest.

Bits and pieces of the body parts have been recovered by the police, but the DNA match is yet to be done.

READ | DNA Special: Is live-in relationship the reason for Shraddha Walkar's murder?