Delhi murder: Shock and disbelief in quiet lane

The narrow lane was on Tuesday morning packed to the brim with media people and neighbours, jostling for space and any news of the killing, or the suspect

Disbelief run through residents of Chhattarpur Pahadi’s lane number one since Monday morning, when news trickled down to the quiet residential neighbourhood that there was a murder in their neighbourhood, and that the suspect spent three months disposing of the victim’s body - piece by piece.

On November 10, nearly 30 police personnel from the Mehrauli police station arrived at the three-storey building to enquire about 27-year-old Shraddha Vikas Walkar, who her family in Maharashtra reported missing a couple of months ago. (HT Photo)

The narrow lane was on Tuesday morning packed to the brim with media people and neighbours, jostling for space and any news of the killing, or the suspect.

“We still cannot believe such a major crime happened in a building in our neighbourhood and nobody heard anything. It’s just unbelievable,” said Lata.

According to the police, a 28-year-old man allegedly murdered his girlfriend six months ago, chopped her body into at least 35 pieces for over two days, stored them in a refrigerator for about three months, and dumped the body parts piece by piece in different parts of south Delhi.

On November 10, nearly 30 police personnel from the Mehrauli police station arrived at the three-storey building to enquire about 27-year-old Shraddha Vikas Walkar, who her family in Maharashtra reported missing a couple of months ago.

After making enquiries from other occupants of the building and residents of the neighbourhood, police personnel left with 28-year-old Aaftab Amin Poonawala.

Residents of the neighbourhood said there were no giveaways of what was happening inside the first-floor flat.

“We didn’t make much of it on Thursday, when the police first landed up in the lane. But when the personnel returned with the tenant on November 11, we were sure something was amiss. The police left after a few hours. When we asked a policeman, he told us that a woman who lived in the flat with Poonawala was missing. The landlord confirmed this that evening,” said Kusum Lata, a woman living opposite the three-storey building.

According to Lata’s 14-year-old son, Anshu, the police returned on November 12, this time with forensic experts who inspected the flat and the staircase and collected relevant samples. They also inspected a refrigerator where the woman’s body parts were allegedly stored between May and August.

“The beat police officer knew me and asked me to help bring down the fridge. They did not tell me anything about the crime,” the teenager said.

Others in the neighbourhood said they were taken aback on Monday morning, when journalists with video cameras arrived in the lane and began asking about the building where the couple lived.

“I was shocked and could not believe my ears when one of the journalists told me about the crime. The journalist asked me about the woman, but I had never seen her. I identified Poonawala after the journalist showed me his photograph,” a woman living in the building said, asking not to be named.