Aaftab Poonawala being brought to the Mehrauli forest area by the Delhi police in search of missing body parts.
| Photo Credit: File photo
Murder accused Aftab Poonawala, who allegedly strangled his live-in-partner Shraddha Walkar and dismembered her body into several pieces, told a Delhi court on Tuesday that he committed the crime “in the heat of the moment”.
Metropolitan Magistrate Aviral Shukla extended Aftab’s police remand by four days after the Delhi police said their investigation was in a crucial stage and more body parts were expected to be recovered from different areas based on the accused’s disclosure.
Mr. Shukla, during the virtual hearing, asked Aftab if he knew what he had done. To this, he replied: “…It [murder] happened in the heat of the moment and it was not deliberate.”
Another Metropolitan Magistrate, Vijayshree Rathore, allowed the police to go ahead with a polygraph test on the accused. The court directed the police to carry out a medical test on Aftab every 24 hours and submit the medical reports before the court.
Forensic Science Laboratory Assistant Director Sanjeev Gupta said the procedure for the polygraph test has been initiated and premedical tests are being carried out.
Teams of FSL and CBI have been deployed at Aftab and Shraddha’s rented accommodation in south Delhi’s Chhatarpur area, sources said.
Rough site plan
The police told the court they had found a “rough site plan” at Aftab’s house, which may assist them in the search of the body parts and custodial interrogation of the accused. They further said that Aftab will be taken to Maidan Garhi pond and Mehrauli forest for searches and his presence will help in connecting the chain of events in the crime.
The police said they had recovered some bones from the pond and the forest and had sent them to the FSL for examination.
‘New city’
Aftab told the court that he will cooperate with the police but currently he is finding it hard to recall the details as the incident “happened a long time ago” and that “Delhi is a new city for him”.
DSLSA (Delhi State Legal Services Authority) lawyer Abinash Kumar, who is representing Aftab, opposed the four-day remand plea of Delhi police and asked for a two-day remand.
Mr. Kumar said he spoke to the accused for five-seven minutes on Tuesday morning and the latter appeared “relaxed and confident”, unlike the previous communications when he appeared “evasive”.
The lawyer said when he asked Aftab if he is able to follow the legal proceedings in the case and if he was satisfied with the defence, the accused replied in the affirmative. Aftab, however, did not confess to “murdering” Shraddha, said Mr. Kumar.
Aftab, 28, is accused of strangulating 26-year-old Shraddha on May 18, chopping her body into multiple pieces and storing them in a fridge. He allegedly dum-ped the body parts in the Chhatarpur forest area over a period of three months.
