Aaftab Poonawala, accused in the horrifying murder of girlfriend Shraddha Walker, told a Delhi court that he had killed her in the "heat of the moment". The court has agreed to keep him in police custody for questioning for another four days.
Aaftab, 28, told the court that he has been cooperating with the police, giving maps of locations where he dumped the body parts. He, however, said he could not remember all the details as it "has been very long".
Aaftab's lawyer, Avinash, said the police had sought extended custody, citing that he has given the Investigating Officer a sketch of a pond where he has dumped more body parts.
Aaftab has claimed that he chopped Shraddha's body into 35 pieces, of which less than 20 have been recovered. He will be taken to two ponds - both in south Delhi.
The tools used for chopping up the body – a saw and a blade – were thrown away, he has told the police. The meat cleaver was thrown in a dustbin in south Delhi, sources said.
The forensics team broke the bathroom tiles at Aaftab's Chhattarpur flat and found blood stains under them. Samples have been sent for DNA tests.
So far, the police have sent 18 bones, including the base of a skull, and fragments of a jaw, for forensic tests. The police are looking for a DNA match with Shraddha's father or brother.
Though Aaftab confessed to the murder and disposal of the body, it will not count as evidence. His initial confession was not made before a magistrate, which is needed to make it admissible evidence. While he repeated the statement in court, that won't count either, as it was a remand hearing and not the actual trial.
Though the police plan to hold a polygraph or narco-analysis test on Aaftab, the reports would not be admissible in court either. The preliminary processes for the lie-detector test conducted on Tuesday.
Delhi police told the court that 80 per cent of the investigation has been completed. The next few days are crucial for the investigation.
Shraddha and Aaftab had moved to Delhi in May and four days later, following an argument over expenses and infidelity, he strangled her to death. He claimed he chopped the body into 35 pieces which he kept in a fridge and disposed of over 18 days.
