Shraddha Walkar murder case: Aftab Poonawala and his live-in partner always kept the doors of their rented house closed, claimed a neighbour on Thursday. Identified as Rajesh, the man who resides close to the Shraddha murder case accused Aftab's house further said he saw the victim only once.
"I had seen the woman climbing the stairs, the first time they had shifted here," Rajesh said.
"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 further said.
"Once Aftab had come downstairs to collect his food, only then I came to know about his name," Rajesh said.
"The owner had asked me to help him 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," he added.
Aftab's burnt Shraddha's face to conceal identity: Police sources
Meanwhile, earlier today, sources with the Delhi Police said the accused Aftab Poonawalla had charred his live-in partner's face to hide her identity.
They said he first chopped her body into 35 pieces, then burnt her face in a way that it becomes unidentifiable even if the body parts are discovered.
"During the interrogation, Aftab revealed that he had learnt about all this on the internet and also about how to hide the body from everyone's reach," the sources said.
One chopped head was earlier found in Trilokpuri area of Pandav Nagar
In yet another loop in the Shraddha Walkar murder case, the Southern District Police of Delhi has contacted their Eastern counterparts in a bid to match the DNA sample of chopped body parts, including a human head, which the latter had recovered earlier in June.
According to the sources, the East Delhi Police had found a chopped head and hand in the Trilokpuri area of Pandav Nagar police station area of the national capital in June this year, which was nearly a month after Shraddha was murdered (on May 18).
In the East Delhi case, the police were not able to ascertain whose body parts they were because of the tampered state of the recovered body parts.
The body parts found in East Delhi were sent for a DNA test and the forensic report is awaited.
The bones found in Mehrauli forests have also been sent for a DNA test to ascertain if the found body parts were of Shraddha.
Aftab first disposed parts that could stink quickly
According to the sources, Aftab, during his interrogation, told the police that after killing Shraddha and chopping her body into 35 pieces, he had first disposed of those parts which could stink quickly.
"Accused Aftab told the police that he used bleach to destroy the evidence and also used chemicals so that not a single stain of blood remained on the floor," the sources said.
"When the police officer talks to the accused in Hindi, he replies in English. He sleeps peacefully in the police station lockup all night. After the murder, the friends of the accused also used to visit his house," the sources said.
An outstanding water bill and Aftab Poonawala's rent agreement
Meanwhile, the Delhi Police has come across a fresh lead in the investigation, in which they have found a pending water bill in the accused Aftab Poonawalla's flat, given the circumstances that 20,000 litres of water in Delhi is provided free by the government.
Two neighbours living on the floor above Aftab's had informed the police that the water bill of all the floors comes to zero, except for Aftab's, who had an outstanding due of Rs 300, thus raising suspicion.
"After the murder, Aftab used a lot of water to clean the blood stains leading to a high water bill and the pending amount. Neighbours told the Police that Aftab used to regularly go and check the building's water tank," the sources said.
The police have also come to know that in the rent agreement, Aftab had put Shraddha's name first and his own name at the last.
"The flat owner knew that they were not married. They were given the flat through a broker. Aftab used to deposit Rs 9,000 into the account of the owner between 8 and 10 of every month," the sources said.
(With inputs from ANI)
