Shradha murder case: Delhi cops find blood stains in flat, DNA test being carried out

Delhi Police has found blood stains in the kitchen of accused Aftab Amin Poonawalla’s rented flat where he murdered his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar. The blood samples have been sent for examination to ascertain whose blood it is.

According to the sources, the police are likely to call the victim’s father for DNA testing after which the blood sample and bone sample will be sent to Forensic Light Source (FLS) for matching.

“Delhi Police, late on Monday night, took Aftab back to his flat to recreate the crime scene to ascertain how Shraddha was killed. The police had carried a mannequin to his flat for the purpose,” the sources said. The forensic team also visited the flat as part of the investigation.

The accused used chemicals to clean the fridge in his attempt to remove all traces of the crime.

“In the investigation so far, the police suspect that Shraddha’s body was cut into 35 pieces in the bathroom after the murder… Also, he used to leave the water from the shower running so that the body could be chopped easily and the blood could flow into the sewer.

According to the sources, many novels and literature books have been found in the house which suggests that Aftab was fond of books and reading novels.

Earlier on Tuesday, the police sources told ANI that Aftab confessed that he had made up his mind to kill Shraddha over a week before the murder (May 18).

Aftab said his partner had trust issues because of which she would often get angry, leading to frequent quarrels.

“I often had to talk to someone over the phone. However, she would doubt my commitment to the relationship every time she caught me speaking over the phone. She used to get very angry,” Aftab told Delhi Police.

Police said on further investigation, it was learnt that the couple had a fight on May 18 during which Aftab killed Shraddha.

“I was scared as I knew that if I dumped the body somewhere, I might be caught. I browsed Google all night to search for ways to dispose of the body and not arouse any suspicion. I also searched the internet on what of chopper I would have to use to cut the body,” the Delhi Police source quoted Aftab as saying.

Aftab also confessed to his fondness for watching web series and shows related to crime and it was from these shows that he borrowed ideas on preserving the chopped-off body parts and disposing of them later, police said, adding that he did it all by himself.”

According to police sources, the accused first disposed of her liver and intestines after mincing them. Since he was a trained chef, he knew how to use the knife on her flesh, police added.

The liver and intestines were disposed of in the nearby forest area of Chattarpur and Mehrauli, sources said.

Meanwhile, earlier on Tuesday, sources said the city police may write to the dating app, Bumble where the couple first met, seeking details of Aftab’s profile and the women who visited him after the murder.

Sources said the Delhi Police wants to ascertain if any of the women Aftab dated on the app was the reason why he killed Shraddha.

Meanwhile, Shraddha’s father on Tuesday demanded the death penalty for the accused while also suspecting ‘love jihad’ behind the incident.

Speaking to ANI, Shraddha’s father, Vikas Walker said, “I suspect love jihad. We demand that Aftab be sentenced to death. I have faith in the Delhi Police as the investigation is moving in the right direction. Shraddha was close to her uncle and didn’t talk to me much. I was never in touch with Aftab. I lodged the first complaint in the case at Vasai (Mumbai).”

“I had spoken to Shraddha last in 2021. I would ask her to tell me more about her live-in partner. But she didn’t say much. I did not know she had shifted to Delhi. Her friend told me she was in Delhi. I thought that she was in Bengaluru. Aftab had a lot of time to remove all the evidence,” Shradha’s father said.