New Delhi: Mehrauli murder accused Aaftab Amin Poonawala was on Monday taken to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory here to record his voice sample after police came across an audio clip in which he was purportedly heard fighting with Shraddha Walkar. According to sources, police got hold of the audio recording of a purported heated argument between Walkar and Poonawala while investigating the murder case.
The accused, currently lodged in Tihar Jail, was taken to the CFSL to record his voice sample and check if it matches with the male voice in the clip, they said. Poonawala allegedly strangled his live-in partner Walkar, 27, and sawed her body into 35 pieces, which he kept in a 300-litre fridge for almost three weeks at his Mehrauli residence, before dumping those across the city over several days.
The accused was arrested on November 12, and a court in New Delhi on Friday extended his judicial custody by 14 days. Poonawala admitted to have killed Shraddha Walkar after a quarrel over marriage and he was inspired by "Dexter", an American crime series, to saw her body into pieces for easy disposal.
Poonawala, a trained chef, evaded police action for six months. He continued to live in the house he shared with the victim and was arrested early Saturday after details of the killing and its aftermath came to light in the sustained interrogation.
"Around mid-May, the couple had an argument over marriage, which escalated and Poonawala killed her," Ankit Chauhan, Additional DCP-I, South district, had earlier said. "The accused then cut her body into over 35 pieces. He bought a 300-litre fridge to preserve the body parts and stocked up on incense sticks and room fresheners. He disposed of the pieces in different parts of the city over several days. He used to step out past midnight to dump the severed body parts," he added.
Chauhan also mentioned that the woman was not on talking terms with her family due to their differences over her relationship with Poonawala. The complaint by the victim's father alleged that Poonawala used to beat Walkar on several occasions and that she had informed her family about it earlier. "The woman's father called the accused up but was told that the couple had parted ways sometime back. Unable to contact his daughter, the man then filed a missing complaint," Chauhan said.
After receiving the complaint, Mumbai Police traced her last location to Delhi and also called Poonawala whose contradictory statements raised suspicion, prompting them to rope in Delhi Police. "Mumbai Police took out Call Detail Record (CDR) of Poonawala and Walkar and found her mobile was switched off since May. Then we called up Poonawala and inquired with him as well as his statement was recorded. He earlier said they were residing in Chattarpur locality in Delhi but in May she left his place after some fight between them. When Manikpur police found some contradiction in his statement, they informed the Delhi police and transferred all her details to them," a senior Mumbai police official had said. (With Agency inputs)
