Skulls, Himachal, Garbage Van: What Cops Are Focusing On in Shraddha Murder Case

Scrutiny of Aaftab Poonawala's social media profiles and conversations with his friends reveal that there was nothing that could have predicted his gruesome murder of Shraddha Walkar.

(Photo: Vibhushita Singh/The Quint)

On the afternoon of Thursday, 17 November, a Delhi Court granted permission to the Delhi Police to conduct a narco analysis on Aaftab Poonawala — the 28-year-old man accused of killing his live-in partner, Shraddha Walkar in May this year.

A senior police officer told The Quint, “We will do the test next week, perhaps.”

The Delhi Police is yet to recover Walkar’s head or torso, and have now widened the search to other parts of Delhi, a police source said.

The Indian Express, meanwhile, reported that the police is “focusing on skulls found across Delhi."

The help of other police stations in other districts has been sought in this matter, according to the newspaper.

“We cannot reveal where all the search will be carried out as it will hamper the investigation,” the source added.

The Delhi Police had arrested Poonawala on 12 November, following a 10 November statement by him, where he confessed to having killed Walkar.

His initial five day police custody was extended by five more days by a Delhi court on 17 November. As the investigation unfolds, The Quint brings out the finer details.

Garbage Van Seized, Himachal Visit Likely

Over the course of the interrogation, police claimed that the accused said that he threw blood-stained clothes belonging to him and the victim in a moving garbage van. The van has now been seized by the police.

Meanwhile, police is expected to take Poonawala to Himachal Pradesh where the couple had visited before they moved to Delhi mid May.

“It’s not been scheduled yet but in all likelihood he will be taken there,” said a source.

So far, the police has found 10-13 bones from the jungles of Mehrauli where the accused is alleged to have disposed of the bones.

“The FSL team will ascertain if these bones even belong to the victim,” the senior Delhi Police officer told The Quint.

Earlier this week, the Forensic Science Lab (FSL) team had "picked up traces of blood from the kitchen of the rented house," the police source claimed.

DNA samples of Walkar's father and brother have also been taken to establish any match.

CCTV Mapping, Money Trail Analysis: What Else Are Cops Planning to Do?

Besides the above, the police is also planning to conduct a CCTV mapping of the South Delhi locality where Walkar was killed.

"CCTV mapping of the area will be conducted. The footage recovered is six months old. It will be used to ascertain the route that the accused took from his residence to the places where he dumped parts of the victim's body," a senior police officer told The Quint on Wednesday, 16 November.

Further, the Delhi Police source added that days after the incident, Poonawala transferred Rs 54,000 from Walkar's account to his.

"We are yet to ascertain what this money was used for, and if it was used to pay Walkar's pending bills. It's all a matter of investigation," the source had added.