New Shraddha Walkar case? Woman, son kill husband, store 10 body parts in fridge

Aaftab Poonawala, Shraddha Walkar: The two met in 2018 on a dating app called Bumble and lived in Maharashtra before moving to Delhi in May this year.

Delhi Police have arrested a woman and her son for murdering her husband and dumping his body - by cutting it into 10 pieces and leaving them at various places in the eastern part of the city. A four-minute CCTV clip shared by news agency ANI seems to show them with arriving at an open ground in the eastern part of the city - from where body parts were recovered - with bags.

Delhi Pandav Nagar murder: Man's body was stored in a fridge. (Credit: ANI)

Poonam and Deepak Das were arrested for killing her husband Anjan Das at their home in Delhi's Trilokpuri sometime before June 5, when some pieces were found inside a bag at the Ramlila Ground in east Delhi's Kalyanpuri.

"On June 5 some body parts were found at Ramlila Maidan (east district). Over the next three days, two legs, two thighs, a skull and a forearm were found. A case was filed," Amit Goel, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime), said.

"Poonam married Anjan Das in 2017 after her husband, Kallu, passed away in 2016. Kallu was Deepak's father. Deceased Anjan was married in Bihar... had eight children. He wasn't earning and often used to fight," he told reporters.

The senior police officer said Poonam and Deepak had confessed to the crime.

Goel said on May 30 the accused fed Anjan Das liquor mixed with sleeping pills.

"They slit his throat and left the body at home for a day for the blood to drain out completely. They chopped the body into 10 pieces... six pieces recovered."

The CCTV clip shared by ANI shows a man - reportedly Deepak Das - walking late at night with a bag in his hand and a woman - believed to be Poonam - behind him. Police believe that was one of the trips to dump body parts.

The same clip shows them making a second trip - this time during the day.

Visuals of the suspects' modest home in Pandav Nagar show a small grey-coloured refrigerator in which parts of the body were reportedly stored.

The alleged crime bears eerie similarities to the gruesome murder of Shraddha Walkar - who was allegedly killed by her boyfriend Aaftab Poonawala in May and whose body was chopped into 35 pieces and also frozen in a refrigerator while the accused dumped portions in forested areas to get away with his crime.

In the Shraddha Walkar murder too, the accused - Aaftab Poonawala - stored parts of her body in a refrigerator purchased for ₹19,000 for just this purpose.

READ | 'Today he tried to kill me': Shraddha wrote in 2020 against Aaftab

And, as in the Das murder, Poonawala chopped up the body and drained it of blood at home before venturing to dump the pieces across the city.

READ | Delhi murder suspect’s water bill cover-up clue: Cops

Aaftab Poonawala - arrested and currently in extended judicial custody - faces his final polygraph, or lie detector test, session today.

READ | Psychologist whom Aaftab dated after killing Shraddha interrogated

Officials close to the investigation said he will be asked to respond to more questions the police have as they try to solve his alleged crime.

READ | Delhi murder: Police find body parts in woods near Surajkund

Poonawala is also expected to face a narco test - in which he will be administered a chemical to lower his inhibitions - on Tuesday. The results of these tests are inadmissible in court but could help police in their investigation.

According to an official at the lab that administered the test, Poonawala 'remained confident... his body language was normal... but remained elusive or silent when critical questions related to the case were asked...'.

The official speculated Poonawala may be aware of protocols.

Police said Poonawala claimed inspiration from American TV show 'Dexter' in his attempt to clean up evidence of the alleged murder and dispose off the body.

With input from ANI, PTI