Delhi, November 14: Delhi police on Monday said a man identified as Aftab Ameen Poonawala has been arrested in south Delhi after he killed his live-in partner after a fight in May this year, chopped her body into pieces and stuffed them into a refrigerator and dumped the pieces in different parts of the city over the next few weeks.

The gory murder of 26-year-old Shraddha Walkar has left people in disbelief. The accused Aftab strangled his live-in partner Shraddha on May 18. He then chopped her body into 35 pieces and bought a 300-litre fridge to keep them, sources say. Over the next 18 days, he disposed of the pieces at different areas of the Mehrauli forest, police added. Delhi Shocker: Man Kills Lover, Chops Her Body Into Pieces Before Disposing Them, Arrested After Six Months

The police said the accused was inspired by drama series “Dexter” which is a crime series about a man with homicidal tendencies. Moreover, to counter the foul smell in the apartment, the accused Aftab Ameen Poonawala reportedly lit incense sticks. Mumbai Shocker: Man Dies by Suicide After Wife Throws Him Out of House, Forces Him To Sell His Parents Home; Accused Arrested

Aftab reportedly worked as a chef before joining a call center. So, he was aware of how to use a knife to cut a body. 

According to preliminary investigations, the woman worked in a call centre in Mumbai where she came in contact with the accused.

Her parents did not approve of their relationship. At some point, they shifted out to Delhi and started living in south Delhi’s Mehrauli area.

Aftab confessed to police that the girl was pressuring him into a marriage which would often lead to frequent fights between them after which in the month of May, he brutally killed his partner and chopped off her body.

Police have arrested Aftab after Shraddha’s father came to Delhi from Maharashtra after noticing that she hadn’t been uploading photographs on her social media accounts.

A childhood friend of Shraddha had first alerted her family in Maharashtra's Palghar of her "missing" status in September and that kickstarted the investigations into the sensational murder, a top police official said here on Monday.

"The matter came to light on November 8, when the missing woman's father approached Delhi Police after she stopped responding to calls," said police.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 14, 2022 06:17 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).