Police Search Forest After Woman's Remains Found Chopped Up and Scattered

Police are set to search for the remains of Shraddha Vikas Walkar in an Indian forest following her death and dismemberment six months ago, according to reports.

Aftab Amin Poonawalla, a food blogger in Delhi, India, was recently arrested and accused of killing and dismembering his-then girlfriend, Walkar.

He was also accused of hiding her body parts around the city in the hopes that they would be eaten by wild animals.

A police-focused news website, PoliceMediaNews, tweeted a picture of the victim on Monday and said police alleged that Poonawalla was responsible for her violent death. She was strangled and dismembered in Delhi nearly six months ago, on May 18.

The website claimed the couple had discussed marriage and that Walkar moved from her home in Mumbai to live with Poonawalla, but they argued about their wedding and Poonawalla allegedly killed and then butchered his partner.

A news report by India's CNN News 18 was shared on its Twitter page on Wednesday. The broadcast said that police are now expanding their search to find the body of the victim. A clip of the broadcast has since started circulating on social media.

Broadcast host Akanksha Swarup said: "The latest we are learning is that Delhi police is conducting search operations in the Mehrauli jungle. Three to four teams of the Delhi police are searching for body parts in the locations that Aftab had pointed out yesterday.

"The Delhi police team has been on the ground as of 8 a.m. today. Operations have been going on for the last four hours."

She also spoke to her reporter Anshul Singh for further details. He noted that the police have said that no one is now allowed to enter the jungle as it is being treated as a crime scene.

He said: "[The suspect] Aftab came here and pointed at various locations in this entire jungle where he claimed that he threw body parts. Now the Delhi police are making sure that whatever Aftab has said it is corroborated with evidence."

Singh also noted that the search may prove difficult for the police due to the vastness of the jungle and the time that has passed.

Singh said that the jungle was five to seven kilometers in size. As well as this, he noted that there are wild animals residing in the jungle that may have taken or eaten any body parts that were scattered.

An article about the crime by the Indian news website the Free Press Journal added further details to the story, citing unnamed Dehli police sources. The report claimed Walkar, 28, had met her food blogger boyfriend when the pair both worked together at a call center in Mumbai.

The pair began dating, but their families were opposed to the relationship, so the couple moved to Delhi together where they rented an apartment in the Chhatarpur area. But officials said they argued when Walkar said she wanted to marry soon and an enraged Poonawalla allegedly killed her.

Newsweek has contacted the Delhi police for comment.