Fact-check: Is Mehrauli murder case accused Aftab Poonawala a Muslim or a Parsi?

Poonawala is accused of murdering Shraddha Walkar and chopping her body up before dumping the parts across Delhi

As the entire nation continues to follow every detail of the Shraddha Walkar murder case, several social media posts about the accused Aftab Poonawala’s religion have gone viral. While some posts claimed that he was a Muslim, others suggested that he was a Parsi.

After an investigation, DH has found that Aftab Poonawala is a Muslim (Khoja). In the FIR registered by the Delhi Police, Poonawala was identified as a Muslim. Even the members of the Khoja community who live near the Poonawala family's house in the Vasai area of ​​Palghar, Mumbai, confirmed that he belonged to this community. DH also found a comment from the accused on Instagram in which he described himself as a Muslim.

Claim:

Facebook user Rubi Pathan in a post (archive link) shared old pictures of Shraddha and Aftab and claimed that the latter was a Parsi. Pathan said: "The way Aftab Shivdasani is a Sindhi. Similarly, Aftab Punawala is also Parsi."

Another Facebook user Anas Ahmed also claimed in a post (archive link) that Aftab Poonawala was a Parsi. Ahmed wrote: “Full name Aftab Amin Poonawalla (Religion, Zoroastrian). Be it on news channels or on the front pages of newspapers, by calling the name of the youth who hacked 35 pieces only as Aftab (incomplete), efforts are being made to create Hindu-Muslim hatred in the hearts of people. And thousands of people may have believed Aftab to be a Muslim, but actually he is not a Muslim. The boy's full name is "Aftab Amin Poonawala" who is a Parsi.”

Similar claims about Aftab’s religion were posted by other users on Facebook and Twitter. You can see the archived links of such claims here, here, here and here.

Investigation

Even as Aftab Poonawala’s lawyer on Nov. 22 said that Poonawala had not yet confessed to killing Shraddha Walkar in a court of law, the Delhi Police conducted a polygraph and narco test to determine the truth. Poonawala is accused of strangling his live-in partner, chopping her body into 35 pieces and keeping the parts in a fridge for nearly 20 days before gradually dumping them across Delhi.

Poonawala told a metropolitan magistrate in Saket court that he was provoked because of which he hit the victim. "I was provoked because of which I hit," said Poonawala in Saket court, where he was produced before a metropolitan magistrate through a video conference on Nov. 22.

Poonawala was arrested by the Delhi Police on Nov. 14. According to the FIR registered at Mehrauli police station in South Delhi, a copy of which has been viewed by DH, Aftab's religion was mentioned as a Muslim, and the deceased woman belonged to the Koli caste of the Hindu religion.

DH spoke to workers in the building where the Poonawala family presently lives in Vasai, who confirmed that he belonged to the Muslim (Khoja) community.

Poonawala's neighbour and a member of the Khoja community also confirmed to DH that Aftab Poonawala was a Muslim.

Poonawala, who goes by the name 'thehungrychokro' on Instagram, had described himself as a Muslim while commenting on a post. In a 422-week-old comment, he wrote, "@zloymom I am a Muslim, and the other term is that you are a Hindu. Lord Krishna is the God of the Hindus. May I ask why these doubts about my religion?"

A DH fact-check investigation has found that Shraddha murder case accused Aftab Poonawala is a Muslim and not a Parsi as claimed by users on social media.

Claim: Shraddha murder case accused Aftab Poonawala is a Parsi

Claimed by: Facebook user Rubi Pathan and others

Fact-check: False