HE TOOK TIPS FROM CRIME SHOWS, SHE STAYED TO HERSELF: POLICE

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: Aaftab Amin Poonawala and Shraddha Walkar met on a dating app in 2019. They moved in together in Mumbai within a few months, went on a trip to Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand earlier this year, and then shifted to Delhi. Both sets of parents, however, disapproved of the inter-faith relationship. Still, there was nothing to suggest the relationship would end up in one of the most gruesome murders Delhi has seen.

Aaftab Amin Poonawala

Nothing on Aaftab Amin Poonawala’s profile on social media websites appears to suggest that he could one day be locked up inside a Delhi police station, arrested for allegedly murdering his girlfriend and hacking her body into at least 35 pieces.

Poonawala’s Facebook profile shows he has an interest in bodybuilding, followed football clubs Arsenal and Chelsea, liked television shows such as House of Cards and Bigg Boss, and played video games such as Fast and Furious and Injustice.

The Delhi Police on Monday said the man told them during his interrogation that he had taken tips from television shows, especially Dexter, on ways to dispose of a human body. “He is very fluent in English and appears to be calm even in custody. He said he had done a course in hotel management and interned at a top luxury hotel’s kitchen in Mumbai,” said a police officer, who asked not to be named.

Shraddha Walkar

Shraddha Walkar appears to have been a very private person, with not much of an online footprint. Her last Facebook post was from the Garden Cafe in Baijnath, Himachal Pradesh, where she uploaded a photo of herself reading a book. The Delhi Police have said that the woman, who lived with her mother until 2019, moved out of the house and started living with Poonawala. The two met on Bumble, an online dating app, according to Delhi Police.