Aftab Poonawalla worked as trainee chef in 5-star hotel in Mumbai; Delhi cops to question staff

The Delhi police will interrogate the staff of a five-star hotel in Mumbai where the murder accused Aftab Poonawalla worked as a trainee chef.

NEW DELHI: In a new development in the Shraddha Walker murder, the Delhi police will question accused Aftab Amin Poonawalla's ex-colleagues at a 5-star hotel in Mumbai where he worked as a trainee chef. Aftab Poonawalla who ran a food blog on Instagram by the name "HungryChokro" had done a course in Hotel Management in Mumbai. He had worked at a five-star hotel as a trainee chef and the cops wanted to question the staff of the place he worked at, to find new leads in the case. The police are recording statements from various people who knew Aftab and Shraddha including the secretary of a housing society where Aftab used to live with his family and Shraddha's work manager who she had messaged about her domestic abuse.

Aftab Poonawalla's family left home 20 days ago

As per reports, Aftab had learned how to cut meat and store it which he claimed helped him do the same to Shraddha Walker's dead body after he strangled her and chopped her into pieces. 

The secretary of a housing society where Aftab and his family used to live told the police that the family had vacated the house 20 days ago and rented it out. He said he has no idea about their whereabouts. The family's contact number is currently switched off. 

Aftab and Shraddha's homes in Mumbai

The accused, Aftab, lived with Shraddha in three apartments including the Kenny Apartment, Regal Apartment, and White Hills Apartment in different areas of Mumbai.

A team of Delhi police is camping in Vasai area of Maharashtra since Friday to probe the Shraddha Murder case, in which her live-in partner Aftab Amin Poonawala had strangulated Walker to death allegedly, and chopped her body into 35 pieces, dumped it in the Chhatarpur area of the national capital.

Shraddha's best friends WhatsApp chats crucial

Earlier on Saturday, the police team recorded statements of Shraddha`s best friend Shivani Mhatre and Karan Behri, former manager of Shraddha. Sources said Delhi Police will also use the WhatsApp chats of Shivani Mhatre and Karan Behri as evidence. Delhi Police has so far recorded the statement of a total of six people in this case including Shraddha`s close friend Laxman Nadar and Rahul Godwin, the owner of the flat where Shraddha and Aftab used to live before micing to Delhi.

Shraddha Walker's gruesome murder

Delhi Police last week solved the six-month-old blind murder case and arrested Aftab Amin Poonawalla on the basis of Shraddha's father`s complaint.

Aftab and Shraddha met on a dating site and later moved in together at a rented accommodation in Chhatarpur. Delhi police received a complaint from Shraddha`s father and registered an FIR on November 10.

Aftab googled how to clean blood

Delhi Police interrogation revealed that Aftab Poonawala killed Shraddha on May 18 and later started planning for disposing of her body. He told police that he had read about human anatomy so that it could help him in chopping off the body.

Police said that Aftab, after searching on Google, cleaned blood stained from the floor with some chemicals and disposed of stained clothes. He shifted the body in the bathroom and bought a refrigerator from a nearby shop. Later, he chopped the body into small pieces and put them in the fridge.

Meanwhile, a Delhi court has ordered Rohini Forensic Science Lab to conduct a narco test of accused Aftab Poonawala within five days.

(With ANI inputs)