Shraddha Walkar Murder Reminds of Other Brutal Killings by Partners

The gruesome murder of Shraddha Walkar, whose partner Aaftab Poonawala allegedly killed her in a fit of rage, chopped her body into 35 pieces, and disposed them off across Delhi, is a rude reminder of other cases involving brutal killings by intimate partners. 

The Anupama Gulati Case

Rajesh Gulati, a 37-year-old software engineer, killed his wife Anupama Gulati reportedly after an argument, on 17 October 2022, in Dehradun. Gulati then used an electric saw to chop her body into nearly 70 pieces, stuffed the body parts into separate polythene bags and stored them in a deep freezer. He dumped the polythene bags, one at a time, at various locations across the outskirts of Dehradun.

For nearly two months, Gulati told people, including their twins, aged four, that their mother had gone to Delhi. One day, out of suspicion, Anupama's brother arrived at his home, and Gulati's cover blew.

Rajesh reportedly could not confirm Anupama's whereabouts and did not even let the brother inside the house, forcing him to file a missing report.

Acting on the complaint, when police raided the house, they recovered severed parts of the body and the severed head from the freezer. Gulati is currently serving life sentence.

In my entire career, I had never come across a case like this where the killer perpetrated such brutal atrocities on the dead body.

G S Martolia, Former Dehradun SSP

The Tandoor Murder Case

Sushil Sharma, former youth Congress leader, shot his wife, Naina Sahni over suspicions of her having an extramarital affair, at their home in New Delhi on 2 July 1995. He then chopped her body into several pieces and tried to dispose off her body by burning it in a tandoor (clay oven) on the roof of his friend's restaurant.

Police personnel in the area reached the spot when they found smoke and and stench emanating from the tandoor. They recovered Naina's dismembered, half-burnt body.

Sharma was initially sentenced to death. That was later commuted to life imprisonment. But he walked out of jail in December 2018 after Delhi High Court ordered his release.

The Handa Pillai Case

Sumit Handa, then employed with a travel firm, allegedly killed his wife, Niranjani Pillai, 27, a South African Lawyer, on 29 October 2011, in New Delhi. Following a fight on suspicion of infidelity, Handa reportedly stabbed her in the abdomen, strangled her with a laptop charging chord, and stashed the body in their bathroom.

Police claim following the murder, Handa frantically searched the internet and looked up crime shows on TV. He then allegedly chopped Pillai's body into pieces, stuffed them into a trolley bag, stuffed her belongings into another bag, and drove to Rai in Haryana. On the way, he reportedly bought some petrol at a gas station, dragged the bags to a forest, and set the bags on fire.

Ashok Chand, Retired ACP (Crime Branch), who lead the investigation in the case, later recalled that Handa tried covering up the gruesome crime by changing the bathroom tiles, creating credible alibi, filing a missing report of Pillai, claiming Pillai eloped with her lover, and producing emails he told police he sent her, begging her to come back.

The crime branch sensed that something was amiss. They kept him under surveillance. Initially confident, he reportedly broke down later and confessed to the crime. The trial in the case is still on and Handa is currently out on bail

The 'Girl With a Peacock Tattoo' Case

On 11 February 2011, Delhi Police found the body of a woman, dumped inside a suitcase, outside the New Delhi Railway Station. For almost a fortnight, the woman remained unidentified. They had just one clue: a peacock tattoo on her abdomen.

13 days after they performed her last rites, a man approached the police, claiming the woman was Neetu Solanki, his daughter. With her identity revealed, the police were able to trace her background. Neetu, in her twenties, worked in a call centre in Delhi. In 2010, she told her parents that she was moving to Singapore to pursue a new job. Turns out, it was a lie.

Neetu was still in Delhi and was living with her partner, Raju Gehlot, an Air India employee. Her parents claim they got to know only months before her death.

The police picked Raju's relative who reportedly confessed that Raju had killed Neetu, and later dumped her body. The police were able to join the dots. But Raju remained untraceable for eight years...

In 2019, a man named Rohan Dahiya called Raju's home. The police that had still kept Raju's family under surveillance, found out that Raju had been living as Dahiya for eight years. He was admitted to a hospital in Gurgaon with a liver ailment. He reportedly said he was on his deathbed and wanted to finally meet his parents.

The Delhi police was finally able to track Raju down. But by the time they reached the hospital, Raju passed away.