New Delhi: Aftab Poonawala, the 28-year-old accused of murdering his live-in lover Shraddha Walkar, 26, and slicing up her body six months ago, has been granted a narco-analysis test for lie detection by a local court. At the Thursday hearing, his police detention was also extended by five days, and authorities now aim to transport him to Himachal Pradesh’s Parvati Valley, where the couple vacationed before moving to Delhi in May.
Some lawyers protested in court, demanding his execution, although he was presented via video connection because authorities were afraid he would be harmed, reported national media.
Police have been questioning him since his arrest last Friday. Police requested a custody extension because crucial evidence, such as Shraddha Walkar’s phone and the knife he used to chop up her body, had yet to be collected.
So far, police have a “confession” in custody, which, according to legal experts, is not valid evidence unless made in front of a judge and corroborated by other material evidence. The narco test could help close that critical gap.
Ahead of afternoon hearing, expecting that he’d be brought in, a large group of lawyers was seen outside the courtroom, shouting “hang him, hang him”.
Though committed in May, the crime was only discovered in the last month when Shraddha Walkar’s father — who had not spoken to daughter since last year because he opposed her inter-faith affair — went to the police after her friends told him she’d been out of touch with them as well.
The pair met on the dating app Bumble three years ago and came to Delhi in mid-May this year after living together in their hometown Vasai in Mumbai. On May 18, four days after moving into their leased Mehrauli flat, Aftab strangled Shraddha, whose body he sliced up, stored the pieces in a freezer, and discarded them in a forest for the following 18 days, according to authorities.
The Hubli Express is on WhatsApp now, you can join the WhatsApp group by clicking the link >>>>>  https://chat.whatsapp.com/Hrmohnx3bkrEJRIv9kQsyD  >>>>>>> You can follow us on Facebook @HubliExpress