Aftab Ameen Poonawala, a 28-year-old man who allegedly murdered his live-in partner, chopped her body into 35 pieces and dumped them in Delhi's Mehrauli forest over 18 days, was 'inspired" by the drama series called Dexter, investigators have said.
Dexter is crime series about a man with homicidal tendencies, who works as a forensic technician for the police during the day and kills heinous offenders in his spare time.
Aftab reportedly worked as a chef before joining a call center. So, he was aware of how to use a knife to cut a body.
The authorities claim that Aftab brought a refrigerator where he kept his live-in partner's dismembered remains for 18 days before disposing of them.
Aftab and Shraddha worked at a call center in Mumbai where they first met and later started dating. After her family did not approve of their relationship, the couple eloped to Delhi and began a live-in relationship.
"The duo fell in love while working in Mumbai and came to Delhi by April-end or May first week after facing opposition from their families. While they were living in the national capital, they had an argument in mid-May over marriage, which escalated and he strangled her," Ankit Chauhan, Additional DCP-I, South district, said.
They arrived in Delhi on May 8. They first spent a day in a hotel and a few days in a hostel before moving into an apartment in the Mehrauli neighborhood on May 15.
When questioned, Aftab said that the girl was pressuring him into a marriage which would often lead to frequent fights between them after which in the month of May, he brutally killed his partner and chopped off her body.
"The (accused) man said they both used to live together in Delhi but she left him after a fight. His statements were different every time we called him for enquiry, so we had doubts as girl's phone was switched off for last 2 months," said police inspector Sampat Patil.