On Saturday (November 12), the Delhi police nabbed a man named Aftab Amin Poonawalla for the gruesome murder of 26-year-old Shraddha Walkar. The victim’s body was chopped into 35 pieces and disposed off in 18 different locations by the accused.
When the news of the heinous crime went viral, the usual suspects began contradicting the religious affiliation of Aftab Amin Poonawalla. They claimed that the accused is a Parsi by Faith and his barbaric act was being used to ‘defame’ the Muslim community.
“…Aftab is Parsi not Muslim but you mother f*ckers are targeting Muslim,” wrote one Mayn Zalik.
Iska Bhi Answer De Sanskari R@pist bc
— MaynZalik (@XunizXan) November 14, 2022
Only one Sara HOA Samaj in entire world stand welcome Does Aarti Distributes sweets fir R@pist Ki11ers No one Else even tho Aftab is Parsi not muslim but u mfs targeting muslim pic.twitter.com/zVXo9siekJ
A similar comment was made by one Syed Mahmood. “Aftab Poonamwalla is the name of the guy. He was a Parsi. Not that it matters but people will again paint it as Hindu-Muslim conflict,” he tweeted.
Aftab ponamwala is the name of the guy. He was a parsi. Not that it matters but ppl will again paint it as hindu muslim conflict.
— Syed Mahmood (@Syed5056) November 14, 2022
It was a inhumane act against a innocent girl.
One Mohammad Meeraj Alam also claimed that the accused is a Parsi. Within hours, the micro-blogging site was filled with tweets, falsely labelling Aftab Amin Poonawalla as an adherent of the Zoroastrian Faith.
Balatkari ka samarthan karne walon suno meri baat.
— MOHAMMAD MERAJ ALAM (@MOHAMMA03754561) November 14, 2022
Tumko us ladki ke maut ka afsos nahi hai..tumko sirf Aftab naam hone se problem hai…waise wo aftab poonawala(parsi) hai.
The religious affiliation of Aftab Amin Poonawalla
We often see the Muslim community try and divorce their faith from the perpetrator in cases where the victim is a Hindu. However, the truth is often far from it.
In a 2014 post, Aftab had acknowledged that he was a Muslim. The murder accused has an Instagram profile, with the username @thehungrychokro.
One Instagram user (@zloymom) had inquired about his religious affiliation in the comment section of his 2014 post. “Hello, my friend! Can I ask you – are you Krishna or Muslim? I have two friends from India one of them is Krishna and other one – Muslim,” the user said.
“I am a Muslim and the other term you’re is Hindu. Lord Krishna is the God of Hindus. May I ask why the certain inquisitiveness about my religion???” Aftab pointed out.
The Instagram user (@zloymom) continued, “Because I want to correct say you HI – if You are Muslim I’ll say You Salam Aleykum. Otherwise I would need to say Namaste.” Aftab responded, “A normal and regular Hello would work too.”
It is thus clear from the comment of the murderer that he is an adherent of the Islamic Faith. The religious affiliation of the accused also becomes clear from the complaint, filed by the victim’s father with the police and attached with the First Information Report (FIR) in the case.
“My daughter had told my wife in 2019 that she wants to stay in a live-in relationship with Aftab Amin Poonawalla. I and my wife had said ‘No’ to it. This is because we are Hindus and belong to the Koli caste. And the boy is a Muslim,” the complaint read.
It further added, “In our place, we do not engage in inter-caste, inter-faith relationships.” It is thus clear that Aftab Amin Poonwalla is a Muslim by Faith and not a Parsi, as claimed by several users on social media.
The background of the Case
As per reports, Aftab met Shraddha in Mumbai while working at a call centre. Shraddha fell in love with Aftab and eloped from her home after her parents disapproved of her relationship with him.
The duo, thereafter, began living together in the Mehrauli area of Delhi. Aftab was reportedly miffed with the victim for asking him to marry her. On May 18 this year, he strangled her to death.
The accused then purchased a refrigerator and stored her body in it for several days. He chopped his partner into 35 pieces and disposed them at 18 different locations in Delhi.
Reportedly, he would go out every night at 2 am to dump the body parts and destroy the evidence of his heinous crime. Shraddha’s family kept track of her whereabouts through her social media posts.
When she stopped posting updates, her family grew worried. Shraddha’s father went to Delhi but was unable to find her. Thereafter, he lodged a complaint with the police. The arrest of Aftab on Saturday (November 12) thus brought closure to the 6-month-old case.
