Neighbour says ‘Saw Shraddha only once after they shifted here’

New Delhi, Nov 17: In Shraddha Walker murder case, now one of the neighbours of accused Aftab Asim Poonawala has claimed that since the two shifted there, he saw Shraddha only once when they arrived here but did see Aftab a number of times.

The neighbour Rajesh told ANI, "I had seen the woman climbing the stairs, the first time they had shifted here. She had a bag in her hand. After that, I did not see the woman, but I have seen the man a number of times. They used to order food online, the delivery man used to stand outside my residence."

The neighbour also claimed that nobody in the neighbourhood knew about Shraddha and Aftab.

He further said, "Once Aftab had come downstairs to collect his food, only then I came to know about his name. The owner had told me to help them out with the water motor. He had come alone to understand how to use the motor. Nobody in the neighbourhood knew who they were. Most of the time, his door used to be locked," the news agency quoted him as saying.

More gory details tumbling out everyday:

Earlier today, there were reports that Aftab confessed to the police that after chopping her body into pieces, he burnt her face to conceal her identity.

He has even reportedly confessed that after murdering her live-in partner, he google searched ways to dispose of the body and even looked for best choppers to cut her body into pieces.

The investigation so far:

The police have so far managed to get quite a few leads in the case including Aftab's confession, blood stains in the kitchen, call records and fund transfer proofs. While the police have found bags with body parts of the victim, the search is on for the severed head and other body parts. Their clothes on the day of murder and murder weapon are still missing.

The background:

Shraddha Walker had met Aftab Amin Poonawalla on a dating app in 2019 in Maharashtra. When her parents objected her interfaith relationship with Aftab, the couple left Mumbai and settled in Delhi.

They arrived in Delhi on May 8 and stayed at different places until they moved into the Chhattarpur apartment on May 15. The two reportedly had fights and trust issues. Shraddha's friends have also said that the two had a strained relationship and Aftab hit her during their fights.

On the night of the murder, Aftab allegedly strangulated Shradhha to death. He then chopped her body into 35 pieces and disposed her body parts at 18 different locations in Delhi over a period of time.

The crime came to light in November when Shraddha's father filed a police complaint in Delhi.

Following a missing person's complaint filed by Shraddha's father, the Delhi Police arrested Aftab last Saturday, six months after the crime took place. In custody he confessed to his crime and reportedly told the police that after killing her, he chopped her up into 35 parts and disposed her body parts in different parts of the city.