Aftab and Shraddha Walkar, 26, fought frequently.
Aftab Ameen Poonawala, who allegedly killed his live-in girlfriend Shraddha Walkar and chopped her body into 35 pieces, has revealed more details of the horrific crime in police custody, sources say.
The 28-year-old has allegedly been telling the police, "Yes, I killed her." He has only spoken in English since his arrest and has claimed that he can't speak Hindi, police sources said.
Aftab Poonawala is in a prison in Delhi's Mehrauli. This morning, he was taken by the police to the spots where he allegedly dumped pieces of Shraddha's body over 18 days. He went out at 2 am every day for the grisly task, the police said.
He has allegedly told the police he used "sulphur hypochlorite" to clean up the blood after chopping Shraddha Walkar's body.
Aftab and Shraddha Walkar, 26, fought frequently. But on May 18, their fight escalated and Aftab "sat on Shraddha's chest and strangled her", sources said.
He hid the body in the bathroom and set about researching how to get rid of it without being caught.
He googled how to cut up a body and the best way of disposing of evidence without DNA traces, said police sources.
He bought a 300 litre fridge from a neighbourhood shop, then cut up Shraddha's body. The knife he allegedly used has not been found yet.
According to the police, he used sulphur hypochlorite to wash off the blood, hoping it would be enough to remove all traces of DNA that forensic experts could find.
He threw his and Shraddha's bloodied clothes in the garbage van, the police said.
Within 15-20 days, Aftab started dating another woman, whom he brought home with Shraddha's body parts still in the apartment, the police said.
Aftab, a trained chef, met Shraddha, a call centre worker with a multinational firm, on the dating app "Bumble". He met the other woman on the same app, just days after allegedly killing Shraddha.
But when he brought his new girlfriend home, he moved the body parts to a cupboard, sources said.
To cover up Shraddha's murder, Aftab allegedly used her Instagram account to keep in touch with her friends. He kept up the pretence till June.
Her friends grew suspicious when her phone remained switched off for more than two months.
After her father filed a kidnapping complaint with the police earlier this month, Aftab was detained and questioned.
He allegedly broke down and confessed.
The police are trying to find Shraddha's mobile phone, which Aftab may have dumped in Maharashtra.
Shraddha, who had walked out of her father's home after a row over her relationship with Aftab, wanted marriage but he did not, said the police. Their three-year relationship had soured quickly; Shraddha had told her family and friends that Aftab beat her and she feared him.