Delhi Police on Friday recovered “crucial leads” from the forest area near Gurugram’s DLF Phase 3 where murder accused Aftab Poonawala used to work, sources said.
Acting on an anonymous tip-off, a Delhi Police team arrived at the spot around 11 a.m. to search the area for human remains and bloodstains. The team also visited Aftab’s office and questioned the staff. A senior police officer confirmed that the evidence was collected from the forest area close to the call centre where Aftab worked, from May-end till his arrest on November 12, but refused to divulge information about the nature of the evidence. Sources said that the police are trying to recover deleted data from the social media accounts of Aftab and his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar, adding that their mobile phones and other gadgets will be analysed by a forensic team.
Aftab is accused of killing Shraddha on May 18, dismembering her body, storing the pieces in a fridge and throwing them in the Chhatarpur forest area over a period of three months.
Pattern of abuse
Godwin Rodriguez, 34, recalled the evening of November 23, 2020, when he first met Shraddha, then his brother’s colleague, and saw bruises on her body. “She told me that Aftab had assaulted her; that he had tried choking her several times in the past as well,” Mr. Rodriguez said, adding that he persuaded her to approach the police and file an FIR.
Dr. S.P. Shinde of Mumbai’s Ozone Multispecialty Hospital, who treated Shraddha in December 2020, said she had approached him, along with Aftab, with a complaint of neck and back pain. He added that Shraddha was admitted on December 3 and discharged four days later.
Delhi Police on Friday said multiple teams are camping outstation to “recreate the lives” of Aftab and Shraddha, and that search operations are being carried out to recover the victim’s remains. DCP (PRO) Suman Nalwa said, “Several interdisciplinary teams are working round-the-clock” to verify and piece together the sequence of events.
