Shraddha murder case: Cops recover footage of Aaftab from 3 CCTV cameras | India News


NEW DELHI: Investigators probing the Shraddha Walkar murder case have recovered footage from at least three CCTV cameras from the Chhatarpur area in which Aaftab Poonawalla has been recorded, sources confirmed. A special team has been assigned to analyse the footage, running into hundreds of hours, from these cameras.
This is a crucial breakthrough for the cops because the time factor was a major hindrance in the investigation. The murder had allegedly taken place in May, the body parts disposed of in October and the accused was arrested in November. To prove Aaftab’s culpability, cops were struggling to find CCTV footage showing him.
Most of the cameras in the area had storage capacity ranging from a few days to a month at the most. The first breakthrough came when they recovered footage of October from a camera showing Aaftab venturing out of his house around 4am. The cops then checked over 150 cameras in Chhatarpur Pahadi and other areas in south Delhi and found at least three CCTVs which have storage capacity of more than nine months and good video quality.
Delhi Police‘s says that its investigation in the last 12 days has confirmed that Aaftab did meticulous planning to dispose of the body parts. Sources said he not only used to turn off the location of his phone but also left his mobile at the rented accommodation before going out to dispose of the parts, ensuring that he didn’t leave an electronic trail.
The time lapse between the murder and disposal of body parts was deliberate, with Aaftab likely assuming that CCTV recordings would get overwritten with newer footage, said a cop.
Sources said cops are investigating whether the murder was planned in Himachal Pradesh and Chhatarpur Pahadi was a pre-decided location as it was close to a forested area where body parts could be easily disposed of. “We are also probing the role of Badri, a common friend who had helped Shraddha and Aaftab find the Chhatarpur Pahadi accommodation, whether he was involved in a conspiracy with the accused,” the source added.
Aaftab has also been confronted with his internet search history during questioning. During a search at Mehrauli forest, cops recovered brittle bones, which will go through some other tests before going for a DNA analysis. Police have also questioned Aaftab’s father, who said the family was not in regular contact with his son and that Aaftab wanted to live alone and independently. However, he will be questioned again as Shraddha, in her complaint to Maharashtra police in 2020, had written that his parents were aware that Aaftab was violent towards her and had allegedly tried to kill her, an official said.




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