"Aaftab Poonawala chopped up body in toilet": Shraddha Walkar's father to court

Aaftab Amin Poonawala, the man accused of slaying his live-in partner Shraddha Walker, told the victim’s father he chopped her body into pieces in the toilet of their rented home and disposed of them overtime in Chattarpur Pahadi. Vikas Madan Walker, Shraddha’s father, testified before a Delhi court that Poonawala, upon reaching the nala (drain) behind the Shamshan Ghat Mandir (Cremation ground temple) on ‘100 Futa Road’ in Chattarpur Enclave, pointed at the exact place where he disposed of the body parts. Delhi police recovered around 13 bones, including the pelvic bone of the deceased, at the place, he said. The Delhi court was recording the testimonies of witnesses in the sensational murder case. Shraddha Walker, who was in a live-in relationship with the accused, was allegedly strangled by Poonawala on May 18 last year. The accused was alleged to have sawed her lifeless body and kept it in a fridge before disposing of the pieces in desolate places across the city over several days to dodge the police and the public. Many of her body parts were discovered later in a nearby forest. Vikas Madan Walker, who was examined as a prosecution witness by the public prosecutor before Additional Sessions Judge Manisha Khurana Kakkar, testified that Poonawala strangulated his daughter on May 18, 2022. He then cut her body into small pieces for easy disposal. “Poonawala led the police team to the place where he had killed my daughter (the rented house in Chhatarpur). He pointed out the place where he had killed my daughter and also the place where he had cut my daughter into pieces, which is the toilet/bathroom,” he said. Poonawala then disclosed he had packed the pieces of the body in trash bags and stored them in a refrigerator in the living room. When his “new girlfriend” visited the accused, he would remove the trash bags from the fridge and store them on a wooden shelf in the kitchen, Vikas Walkar said. He said Poonawala also led the police team to a place at the drain behind the Shamshan Ghat Mandir on ‘100 Futa Road’ in Chhatarpur Enclave. “Upon reaching the place, he pointed out the exact place where he had disposed of the body parts, and on his pointing out, a total of 13 bones, including one pelvic bone were recovered by the police,” he said. During the proceedings on Saturday, which lasted around six hours, the refrigerator, where the body parts had been allegedly kept, and the wooden pieces suspected of having the deceased’s blood stains were produced in court. Vikas Walkar identified the pieces of evidence, following which the video and audio clips of Poonawala and Shraddha were also played in the court. After Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad completed the examination-in-chief, Poonawala’s counsel started the cross-examination which continued for around two hours. “It is wrong to suggest that I deposed regarding the fight between my daughter and Poonawala based on the information given by my (late) wife. Voluntarily, before the death of my wife, I had called my daughter home and personally inquired about the fact and she confirmed that the accused used to fight with her and beat her,” he said. He claimed Poonawala disclosed about having killed his daughter around 6 pm on May 18. The court has posted the matter for further cross-examination on Monday.