Shraddha murder case: We seek death penalty, says victim's father
Aaftab Poonawalla, the accused in the murder of Shraddha Walker, was a food blogger who used to work at a call centre in Delhi. The couple began dating in 2019 before moving to Delhi in 2022.
FollowThe father of Shraddha Walker, who was allegedly murdered by her live-in partner Aaftab in Delhi, demanded the death penalty for the culprit on Tuesday. He also suspected a 'love jihad' angle behind the incident.
As per reports, Shraddha's father, Vikas Walker, said, "There may be a love jihad aspect. We seek the death penalty for Aaftab. I believe Delhi Police are investigating the case correctly. Shraddha didn't speak much to me; she was close to her uncle. I didn't ever communicate with Aaftab. I initially complained in Mumbai's Vasai."
Delhi Police investigation so far:
Aaftab Poonawalla, the accused in the murder of Shraddha Walker, was a food blogger who used to work at a call centre in Delhi, according to a Delhi Police investigation. The police are now investigating whether he rented a flat in Delhi's Chhatarpur location as part of a plot to murder the victim.
According to police sources, the couple began dating in 2019 before moving to Delhi in 2022. They lived in Maharashtra for a while but travelled to other destinations as part of their travel plans. According to the police probe, the pair fought frequently.
Police added that the couple went to hill stations in March-April, travelled to Himachal Pradesh for a few days in May and stayed together when they met a man from Delhi's Chhatarpur. According to sources, they first stayed in Delhi at the flat of the same person they met in Himachal. However, the stay did not result in a transformation in their relationship.
Later, Aaftab rented a flat in Chhatarpur and moved in with Shraddha. On May 18, she was allegedly strangled to death in her Chhatarpur residence. The authorities have learned that the accommodation was rented a few days before the murder. "It is also being investigated whether Aaftab had already planned to kill her," added police sources.
During interrogation, the accused told police that he used to take the pieces of the dead body to the disposal at 2:00 am as there was minimal movement at that time.
The police have learned that the accused, Aaftab, holds a bachelor's degree and lives in Mumbai with his family.
"According to Aaftab's social media, he has also done food blogging for some time, although no video about his blogging has been released in a long time. His last post was in February, following which there was no activity on his profile. On Instagram, he has over 28,000 followers," according to the reports.
According to the authorities, Shraddha and Aaftab formerly worked in a call centre.
"It is found that following the murder, Aaftab would return home around 6-7 pm and take the dead body pieces, stored in the fridge, for disposal. The accused used to carry the pieces in a black foil but had thrown them out in the forest, making it difficult to determine whether the pieces were thrown or the remains were the result of animal hunting," sources added.
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