Delhi’s Saket court today framed charges against Aftab Poonawala, accused of murdering his live-in girlfriend Shraddha Walkar and chopping her body into pieces. The Delhi Police had booked Poonawala under Sections 302 (murder) 201 (destruction of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code, which has now been framed by the court after examining evidence produced by the police.
Poonawala, however, denied the charges and demanded a trial. The matter has been posted for further proceedings on June 1. The Delhi Police filed a 6,629-page charge sheet in the case on January 24.
Shraddha Walkar’s father Vikas Walkar late last month demanded that the case be fast-tracked so that he can perform her last rites, and threatened to go on a hunger strike if it was not done within a month.
The court had earlier also adjourned till May 9 the hearing on an application by Mr Walkar urging the judge that his daughter’s remains be handed over to the family for the last rites as required by tradition and culture.
Shraddha was allegedly strangled by Poonawala on May 18 last year. He sawed her body into pieces and kept them in a fridge for almost three weeks at his house in south Delhi’s Mehrauli before scattering them at different places in the capital.
Aftab has been in custody since November 12, 2022. The Delhi Police conducted a narco-analysis test, a polygraph test, and collected DNA evidence to establish the allegations against Poonawala.
More than 150 witnesses were reportedly examined and their statements have been recorded. The Police also collected his voice sample.
The Delhi High Court had on April 20 restrained all news channels from airing contents of the charge sheet, saying telecast of the recording of narco analysis would prejudice the case.