Shraddha Walker to Mira Road Murder: A Look at the Recent Spate of Gruesome Killings – From Mumbai to Delhi

A 56-year-old man allegedly killed his live-in partner and brutally chopped up her body into several pieces in their flat in the Mira-Bhayandar area of Maharashtra’s Thane district. The case is the latest in a series of gruesome murders that have received national attention, following the sensational Shraddha Walkar murder case in Delhi.

The murder of Saraswati Vaidya (36) by Manoj Sane in Thane bears eerie similarities to the killing of Shraddha Walkar by her live-in partner, Aaftab Poonawala.

In the Thane case, the couple had been in a live-in relationship and had been residing in the flat for the past three years. The victim was found dismembered into several pieces. The police were alerted to a foul smell and discovered the victim’s remains in horrific conditions, including being boiled and processed in the kitchen, on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters, the police have said he was “influenced by the Shraddha Walkar-Aaftab Poonawala murder case”. The Maharashtra police has registered a case under several sections of the IPC including 302 (punishment for murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence and giving false information).

Here’s a list of recent shocking murders in India

Shraddha Walkar Murder Case

Shraddha Walkar was allegedly strangled by her live-in partner Aftaab Poonawala on May 18 last year, following which he sawed her body into 35 pieces and kept them in a fridge for almost three weeks at his residence in South Delhi’s Mehrauli.

He scattered the pieces at different places in the national capital, including forest areas to avoid getting caught.

Audio recordings from the Practo app through which the accused and the victim had booked a session with a psychologist revealed that Poonawala abused her and she was scared of being killed.

Walkar could be heard saying, “Whenever I start ranting about my anger, if he is somewhere around, anywhere in Vasai (near Mumbai), anywhere around me in this … city, he will find me, he will hunt me down, he will try to kill me, that’s … the problem.”

The Delhi Police had filed the 6,629-page charge sheet in the case on January 24. Poonawala has denied the charges and demanded a trial.

Another Delhi Murder Case

In a disturbingly similar incident, a man was tragically killed by his wife and son in Delhi’s Pandav Nagar in November of the previous year. Following the murder, the perpetrators proceeded to dismember the victim’s body and store the remains in a refrigerator. Over the course of several days, they disposed of the body parts in various locations within and around Pandav Nagar and East Delhi.

The victim has been identified as Anjan Das. His wife, Poonam, and son, Deepak, committed the heinous act due to Das’s involvement in an illicit affair. They administered drugs to him, resulting in his death, and subsequently concealed his body in the fridge of their residence in Trilokpuri. The murder occurred during the night of May 30.

Rajasthan Case

In an unsettling event that unfolded in Nagaur, Rajasthan, in February, a man is suspected of murdering and dismembering a married woman with whom he was involved in a relationship. The accused, identified as Anoparam, allegedly disposed of the victim’s body parts in a well near Derva village.

During the subsequent interrogation, the accused made a confession, admitting to the act of dismembering the victim’s body and scattering the remains. He claimed that his actions were driven by anger, citing Guddi’s persistent pressure for marriage as the motive.

Nikki Yadav Murder Case

Delhi’s Mitraon village was the setting for a grim crime as Sahil Gehlot, the accused, reportedly strangled his partner, Nikki Yadav, and disposed of her body in the refrigerator of his dhaba. Shockingly, on the very same day, he allegedly married another woman. The incident is believed to have occurred during the night of February 9th and 10th.

The motive behind the crime appears to be Sahil’s failure to disclose his relationship with Nikki to his family, who were pressuring him to marry someone else. However, the police state that Nikki discovered Sahil’s marriage plans and confronted him, sparking heated arguments between the two.

Father’s Gruesome Murder in Gorakhpur

In a horrifying incident that took place in Gorakhpur district, Uttar Pradesh, in March, a man allegedly committed patricide by slitting his father’s throat, beheading him, and dismembering his body. The accused, identified as Prince Gupta, engaged in a violent altercation with his father, Madhur Gupta, over a financial dispute before carrying out the gruesome act using a sharp weapon.

The police were alerted to the incident by Prashant Gupta, the brother of the accused, who observed Prince leaving the house and discovered traces of blood inside. It was also reported that a suitcase, which later contained the victim’s dismembered body parts, was missing.

Hyderabad Murder Case

In Hyderabad, a stock market broker was apprehended on Wednesday for his alleged involvement in the murder of a 55-year-old woman, with whom he was engaged in an illicit relationship. The arrest followed a week-long investigation, which was initiated after the discovery of the victim’s severed head in a dumping yard.

According to the police, the motive behind the crime appears to be connected to a debt of Rs 7 lakh that the accused, identified as Chandramohan, owed to the victim, Yarram Anuradha Reddy. Deputy Commissioner of Police (South East Zone) Ch Rupesh explained that the situation escalated on May 12 when Mohan became increasingly frustrated with the woman’s persistent demands for repayment. During an argument over the debt, he attacked her with a knife, inflicting fatal stab wounds to her chest and stomach.

Subsequently, on May 15, the accused carried the decapitated head of the victim in a black plastic cover and disposed of it on the banks of the Musi river, using an auto-rickshaw.

Shahbad Dairy Murder Case

Sakshi (16), was brutally stabbed over 20 times and bludgeoned with a cement slab by her ex-boyfriend Sahil in northwest Delhi’s Shahbad Dairy on May 28. Sahil got drunk and had confronted Sakshi who was on her way to the birthday party of her friend’s child. The CCTV video of the killing in full view of the public in the busy street sent shockwaves across the country.

Police, who later caught the accused from, said that Sahil had allegedly planned to kill Sakshi two days before the incident as the victim rebuffed him in front of her friends, refused to mend their relationship and allegedly rekindled with her ex-boyfriend Praveen.