Shraddha's murder brings back horrific memories of 'Tandoor kand' incident from 1995

As more details of the horrific killing of the 27-year-old call centre employee from Mumbai, Shraddha Walkar by her live-in partner Aaftab Amin Poonawala in Delhi emerge, it has brought to the fore the ominous memories of the Tandoor Kand case from 27 years ago.

The killing and the events that ensued have drawn parallels with the infamous Tandoor Kand of July 1995 in which a Youth Congress worker killed his wife over doubts she was having an affair. Post the killing, he hid her body parts in a Tandoor (Clay oven) on the roof of an eatery run by his friend.   

Shraddha Walkar Murder: Chilling details

The Delhi police on Saturday, 12 November arrested Aaftab Amin Poonawala - about six months after he killed his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar, and chopped her body parts before disposing of them at different places in Delhi. He was arrested following a complaint filed by Shraddha's father.

The Delhi police informed he was given a five-day police remand by a local court. The police registered an FIR on November 10 based on the complaint of Shraddha's father.   

Shraddha met Aaftab on a dating site and both moved to rented accommodation in Delhi's Chhatarpur after the relationship developed. After killing Shraddha Walkar, Aaftab started searching on Google for details to wash off the traces, and stains of the crime. He subsequently removed the stains from the floor of the Chatarpur residence with the help of some chemicals. Police informed that after killing Shraddha, Aafatb bought a refrigerator, chopped her body into pieces and then kept them in the fridge.  

"The two quarrelled frequently and things would often get out of hand. In this particular incident on May 18, the man lost his temper and strangled her to death," Chouhan added.  

Tandoor Kand

Youth Congress worker Sushil Sharma killed her wife Naina Saini over doubts about having an extra-marital affair on July 2, 1995. In a fit of rage, he shot dead his wife, chopped her into pieces and then shoved her body parts over a Tandoor on the rooftop of a popular restaurant owned by his friend. 

Police were alerted about the smoke billowing out from the roof of the restaurant, out of the Tandoor, where they found the dismembered and half-burnt parts of Naina Saini's body. Sushil Sharma had gone missing after the killing, however, he was arrested within a week. 

Sharma was convicted and sentenced to death, which was later reduced to life imprisonment. However, in a surprising turn of events, he was found not guilty by a Delhi court on December 8, 2020, and was later released.      

IMAGE: ANI