Shraddha Walker's father suspects 'Love Jihad', demands death penalty for Aftab

New Delhi, Nov 15: In what could give a new twist to the brutal murder of Shraddha Walker, her father suspects a 'love jihad' angle behind the killing of his daughter by her partner Aftab Amin Poonawala.

The pained father has also demanded a death penalty for his daughter's boyfriend who chopped her body into 35 pieces, kept it in refrigerator before disposing them of piece by piece for 18 days.

"I suspected a love jihad angle. We demand the death penalty for Aftab. I trust Delhi Police and the probe moving in the right direction. Shraddha was close to her uncle and didn't talk to me much," ANI qutoed Vikas Walker as saying. He also has stated that he was never in touch with Aftab and first lodged the complaint in Vasai in Mumbai after she was untraceble.

How they met?

Aftab Amin Poonawala and Shraddha reportedly met through a dating app in 2019. They had travelled together to some places including Himachal Pradesh when they were in Maharashtra. They shifted to Delhi and stayed together in a flat of a man whom they had met in Himachal Pradesh. Her parents were against the inter-faith relationship and had stopped talking to her after she decided to move to Delhi with him.

Police sources have revealed that they had frequent quarrels. She was insisting for marriage while he was against it. On May 18, during one such argument he allegedly lost temper and strangled her.

How US crime drama 'Dexter' inspired Delhi man to brutally kill his live-in partner?

On May 18, Aftab Ameen Poonawala, who chopped off her body into 35 pieces in New Delhi, took inspiration from American crime show 'Dexter' to dispose of her body.

He bought a 300-litre refrigerator to keep the chopped body and used agarbatti (incense sticks) to prevent the smell of death occurring during decomposition, NDTV reported citing the investigators. He disposed of the pieces in Mehrauli forest over the next 18 days. He would usually go out for this at 2 am.

The accused took inspiration from the fictional story of US show 'Dexter' where the the protagonist is a forensics expert.

Forensic Team Had Tough Time

The forensic team had a tough time gathering evidence as Aaftab had ensured to destroy all the traces.

He cleaned the house and the fridge using chemical. The police did not find a speck of blood in the fridge.

The issue would not have come to light if Shraddha's friend had not alerted her father about his missing daughter. After this, he filed a complaint that lead to his arrest six months after the brutal murder.