An Investigation into the gruesome murder of Shraddha Walker has revealed that the accused Aftab Ameen Poonawalla used her Instagram account till June to give an impression of her being alive, said an official on Tuesday.

Poonawalla was arrested on Saturday for killing his live-in partner on May 18 in the Mehrauli area of the national capital and chopping the body into 35 pieces before dumping them in the Mehrauli forest area over a period of 18 days. Investigators said that the police teams are scanning his phone to know more details.

“He was using her Instagram account to avoid any suspicion by her friends,” said an official, adding that police teams are checking his mobile phone details.

The family of 26-year-old Shraddha claimed that sometimes, she used to inform her mother that Aftab beats her.

According to the FIR, the family of the victim disagreed with the relationship, following which she said that she was 25 and had the right to take her own decisions.

“Later, she left the house and was living with Aftab. Sometimes, she used to inform her mother that Aftab beats her. Around 15 to 20 days after her mother’s death in 2020, she called her father and informed the same,” the FIR stated.

“She met me and when I asked her to leave Poonawala and return home, Poonawalla apologized to her and she went back with him. She did not listen to my request due to which I stopped talking to her for several months, ” the FIR stated.

The victim’s parents have been separated since 2016. In 2018, Sharddha’s father got to know that she was in a relationship with Poonawala.

Police said that after chopping the woman’s body into pieces on May 18, the accused bought a brand new refrigerator with large storage capacity the next day and stored the body pieces in it. To counter the stench, he lit incense sticks at his home.

Aftab was reportedly inspired by the American crime show ‘Dexter’, which tells the story of a man with homicidal tendencies who lives a double life.

Being a trained chef, Aftab was adept at using the knife, said sources. However, the knife used in the crime is yet to be recovered. Aftab was taken to the Mehrauli forest area by the police on Monday to collect the body parts which he had disposed of there.

He had thrown the body pieces at various locations over a period of 18 days. To avoid suspicion, he used to leave his house with a body part in a polybag at around 2 a.m.