NEW DELHI: The police probe into a woman’s murder in Dabri has uncovered that the accused husband had also intended to kill her friend, whom he suspected of having an affair with her. He was arrested en route to carry out the second murder in Dwarka.
Dhanraj alias Lalu (28) told police that he initially planned to dismember his wife’s body and discard the parts in an isolated area. He admitted to being influenced by online videos for this plan. However, his plan couldn’t be executed when a friend, whom he had approached for help, refused to get involved. Subsequently, Dhanraj hid the body in a bed box inside their rented accommodation before absconding.
Dhanraj, who worked as a bike rider for various platforms, admitted that he was a habitual drinker, earning very little, while his wife, Deepa (26), worked in the private sector and paid for all their expenses. He was unhappy with his wife’s friendship with another man, and on Dec 29, strangled her to death folowing a quarrel.
In May 2022, Aaftab Poonawala had allegedly killed his live-in partner, Shraddha Walkar, and chopped her body into pieces before dumping them in several locations. “Dhanraj watched videos on the internet and planned to cut the body into pieces and dispose of them in a secluded location. He also wrapped the mouth of the body with white tape to delay the decomposition process,” said deputy commissioner of police (Dwarka) Ankit Kumar Singh.
After killing his wife, Dhanraj travelled to Agra, then returned to Delhi, before again fleeing to Jaipur. “On Jan 4, Dhanraj returned to Delhi and went to Amritsar. On Jan 5, he was returning from Amritsar to kill his wife’s friend who lives in Dwarka. He was also carrying a big knife with him,” police said.
The case came to light on Jan 3 when police received a PCR call about a decomposed body found inside a bed in Jankipuri.
