Before Delhi, Shraddha & Aaftab lived in flat in Maharashtra's Vasai; Agreement accessed

Days after the Delhi Police cracked a six-month-old murder case wherein Shraddha was killed by her live-in partner Aaftab, Republic accessed the agreement of the property the couple had rented in Vasai, Maharashtra. The agreement, which bore the signature of both Shraddha and Aaftab was entered into on October 25, 2020, for a stipulated period of 11 months. The agreement expired on September 24, 2021. 

Murder day chat 

"Obviously, the closer friend circle knew about Shraddha's relationship with Aaftab. But it seemed like everything was very nice in the beginning, but later on, Shraddha herself wanted to leave Aaftab but then they started staying together, travelling together and it was in the month of March that we were last informed that Shraddha along with Aaftab was moving to Delhi," a friend revealed in an exclusive conversation with Republic. 

While in Delhi, Shraddha exchanged messages with friends. Her chats from May 18, the day she was allegedly murdered by Aaftab, were accessed by Republic. At 4.34 pm, Shraddha texted her friend, "Dude, I've got news. I got super busy with something."

In reply, her friend asked, "What's the news".

However, Shraddha went silent and did not reply. Her friend texted her again on September 24 and asked about her whereabouts and safety. "Where the hell are you? Are you safe," the friend asked.

Aaftab strangulated Shraddha

In September, one of her friends contacted her father, informing him that her (Shraddha's) phone was switched off for the past two months. Then, he filed a Missing Report at a police station in Manikpur, Maharashtra, which was later transferred to Mehrauli, Delhi after it came to light that the couple had shifted to the national capital. 

When the police called Aaftab for questioning, he changed his statement multiple times, which made the police suspicious. On the basis of the suspicion, Aaftab and Shraddha's rented accommodation in the Chhattarpur area of Delhi was raided, and the accused was arrested.

"The man strangulated the woman and later chopped up her body into multiple parts. As the murder took place in the month of May, he kept disposing of the body parts over the period of months, and in the meantime, he stored the body parts in his fridge. We have recovered a lot of things and more things are yet to be recovered," the police said.