Bone, hair samples match with Shraddha Walkar, affirms DNA report

This is the third crucial breakthrough for police in the case and the second time that police have confirmed that the bone samples recovered belonged to Walkar

DNA samples extracted from bones and hair fragments found in forested areas in south Delhi’s Qutub Minar and Chhattapur have matched with Shraddha Walkar’s father and brother, Delhi Police officers aware of the matter said on Wednesday.

An investigating officer, on condition of anonymity, said the DNA findings today are from exhibits from which they were unable to retrieve DNA. (PTI)

Walker, 27, was allegedly killed by her boyfriend Aaftab Poonawala, 28, at their rented flat in Chhattarpur Pahadi on May 18, 2022. Poonawala is further accused of chopping up her body into at least 35 pieces and dumping the body parts in forested areas in Delhi. He was arrested for the murder on November 12 last year and is currently lodged in Tihar jail.

Officers said that in the days after his arrest, Poonawala had led police teams to south Delhi’s forested areas where he had allegedly thrown the body parts, and the teams recovered at least 13 decomposed bones, which were sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) and the Centre for Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), Hyderabad.

Special commissioner of police Sagar Preet Hooda said, “The exhibits were sent for DNA mitrocondrial profiling. The DNA from bones and hair matched with Walkar’s father and brother. This establishes the bone and hair to be that of Shraddha Walkar. The bones will now be sent for post-mortem examination to be conducted by a medical board at AIIMS.”

To be sure, this is the second time that police have confirmed that the bone samples recovered belonged to Walkar. On December 14, a CFSL report sent to Delhi Police noted that DNA retrieved from some of the bones matched that of Walkar’s father. Forensic experts had also confirmed marks of a sharp weapon on some of the matched bones.

An investigating officer, on condition of anonymity, said, “The DNA findings today are from exhibits from which we were unable to retrieve DNA. It was sent to Hyderabad because the laboratory has better facilities for DNA mitrocondrial profiling. Now that we have confirmation from two DNA reports, the bones we preserved will be sent for post mortem.”

This is the third crucial breakthrough for police in the case. After the CFSL report matching Walkar’s DNA, police had received a CFSL report on December 21, confirming that blood stains found in the Chhattarpur Pahadi house were of Walkar. This strengthened the police’s case that Walkar was murdered in the house and her chopped parts were thrown in the jungles. Police are still awaiting the report on the different weapons seized from the house, which were used to allegedly chop the body.

Before these breakthroughs, police only had circumstantial evidence to buttress their case against Poonawala -- though he has confessed to the murder both in police remand and during polygraph and narco tests, these claims are not admissible in court.