Inspired By ‘Dexter’, Delhi Man Chops Live-in Partner Into 35 Pieces

A man allegedly strangled his live-in partner and chopped her body into 35 pieces before dumping them in Delhi’s Mehrauli forest over 18 days. He did this all in May 2022. He would go out at 2 am every day to dump the body parts. He was arrested and sent to five days in Police custody.

Aftab Ameen Poonawala strangled his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar on May 18 after they had a fight. He then chopped her body and bought a 300-liter fridge to keep them. Over the next 18 days, he dumped the pieces in different areas of the forest in Delhi.

26 year-old Shraddha worked at the call center for an MNC in Mumbai where she met Poonawala. They started dating and moved in together. Her family did not approve of their relationship and the couple eloped to Delhi.

In September Shraddha’s friend informed her brother that her mobile phone had been switched off for over two months and her family also observed that there were no updates from her on social media. In November, the victim’s father approached the police and suspected Poonawala’s involvement in his daughter’s disappearance. He filed a kidnapping complaint with Mehrauli police after finding the flat locked.

Police arrested Poonawala on Saturday and during the investigation, he revealed that the two fought frequently as Shraddha wanted to marry him. He also confessed to the police how he killed her and disposed of her body. Some remains were recovered from the forest but it is not known if they are human remains. The murderer used a knife that has not been found yet. Poonawala is a trained chef.

Dexter, New Fridge, And Agarbatti

The killer Poonawala bought a new fridge only to keep her body parts in it before he scattered them one by one in the Mehrauli forest.. He also would light agarbatti to counter the strong smell from the body.

In a startling revelation, he was inspired by the American crime show ‘Dexter’. The show Dexter has a vigilante protagonist who is a forensics expert but also has a parallel life of serial killing. He calls the urge in himself to kill the people his ‘dark passenger’. Dexter Morgan too kills people and chops them into pieces before dumping them in the sea.