New Delhi: A Delhi Court Thursday extended the police custody of Aftab Poonawalla, accused of killing his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar, and also gave nod for conducting a narco test on him. The 28-year-old accused has been remanded to police custody for the next five days.
The Delhi Police had filed a plea asking for narco test on Poonawalla. He gave his consent for the test in front of the judge.
Narco analysis is a test that involves injection of a drug which induces a hypnotic state on a subject. In order to conduct this test, it is mandatory to take permission from the court and also a written consent from the subject.
Thursday’s development came after the police said they suspect Poonawalla of misleading them and to assess if he has been telling the truth. The Delhi Police had told the court that they will take him to Parvati Valley in Himachal Pradesh and then Uttarakhand for investigation. The couple went on a trip to both these places in April after leaving Mumbai and before their arrival in Delhi.
Poonawalla was arrested by the Delhi Police on 12 November, more than six months after he allegedly strangled Walkar to death and chopped her body into 35 pieces, before disposing of the remains. Her father contacted the Mumbai Police in October, saying he hadn’t heard from Walkar for a long time. The Mumbai Police later contacted their Delhi counterpart following which a complaint was lodged by Walkar’s father.
At the court room in Delhi’s Saket, lawyers were heard raising chants demanding that Poonawalla be hanged. The accused was produced before court via video conferencing.
According to sources, traces of blood have been found in Poonawalla and Walkar’s rented apartment in Delhi and these have been sent for forensic tests. A van belonging to the MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi), on which the accused allegedly threw blood-stained clothes, has also been traced by the police. The head, torso and the murder weapon — a saw — that was allegedly used to chop Walkar’s body are yet to be recovered. Some suspected body parts have been recovered and sent for forensic examination.
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