Shraddha Walkar murder: Aftab Poonawalla could have broken skull into small fragments

NEW DELHI: Forensic experts are of the opinion that Aftab Poonawalla who killed his live-in girlfriend Shraddha Walkar and chopped up her dead body into 35 pieces could have broken the skull and some other larger bones into smaller fragments and dispersed them over a wide area to make detection and identification impossible, even if some bones were recovered by the police.

According to Mumbai-based medical expert Dr Pranav Kabra, it’s been almost a month since Aftab’s arrest, but the police are yet to find the victim’s head or skull.

“It is obvious that Aftab Poonawalla is not speaking the complete truth. He cannot be trusted or taken at face value. He is not just any murder accused, but rather someone who has researched and studied the subject in great detail. He has programmed his mind to give rehearsed answers to questions under different situations and circumstances. It is my personal opinion that the murder victim’s skull maybe dismembered into smaller fragments and dispersed at different places to make recovery impossible,” Dr Kabra said.

While DNA mapping and testing will help identify if the recovered bones and mortal remains were those of Shraddha’s, the case could be slightly weakened if the skull is not recovered.

It also remains to be seen if the knives, chopper and cleaver recovered by the cops were actually used to dismember the body or some other tools were used. At times the police said a saw-toothed knife or blade was used, then a cleaver and also a Chinese-made chopper.

A simple chopper and a knife would have done the job, given the fact that Aftab with his chef’s training was adept at cutting meat and using heavy knives and choppers.

It is quite likely that Aftab is leading the cops on a wild-goose chase and the mortal remains of Shraddha Walkar may never be found.

The DNA results are not yet out and have not yet positively confirmed the identity and owner of the recovered bones and it is possible that most of the recovered parts do not belong to the victim.