Shraddha Walkar Murder Case: Accused in the murder of Shraddha Walkar, Aftab Amin Poonawala will now be produced in Delhi's Saket Court through video conferencing on Thursday (December 22). The police custody of Aftab ends today.
Aftab Amin Poonawala today (December 17) informed a court in Delhi that he had signed on the vakalatnama but was not aware a bail petition would be filed on his behalf.
The accused appeared before Additional Sessions Judge Vrinda Kumari through video-conferencing."I would like the counsel to talk to me and then withdraw the bail plea," Poonawala said, replying to an inquiry by the judge on whether he intended to withdraw the application.
The judge said the bail application would be kept pending and only after the accused meets the counsel, it would be decided whether the plea would be pressed or not. Now, the court posted the matter for further proceedings on December 22.
Earlier, hearing the bail plea moved by Poonawala in Saket Court on Friday (December 16), the court said that it needs clarification from the accused. Meanwhile, a report from the jail stated that the bail application has been wrongly filed as there was no communication with the counsel. However, the counsel refused and said he had the 'Vakalatnama' to represent Poonawala in Court.
The Delhi Police will be represented by Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad and Advocate Seema Kushwaha, who is the lawyer of Shraddha Walkar's father has also reached the court.Poonawala, who has been arrested based on his confession of killing Walkar and chopping her body into 35 pieces to dispose it of, was arrested last month and is currently lodged in Tihar jail. On December 9, he was produced before a court via video conferencing and his judicial custody was further extended by 14 days.
A total of 13 decomposed bones and part of a jaw were collected from the Mehrauli forest that was suspected to belong to a 27-year-old woman. The Delhi Police confirmed on Thursday that some of the remains of the body parts recovered from forests in Mehrauli and Gurugram belonged to Shraddha Walkar.
Special Commissioner of Police Law and Order, Delhi, Sagar Preet Hooda in a conversation with media said that they have received the DNA and polygraph test reports from Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL)."Police have received DNA and polygraph test reports from Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL). These reports will help us further in the investigation," Sagar Preet Hooda has said.
On December 15, Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena approved the proposal of the Delhi Police to appoint special public prosecutors to represent the Union Territory in the trial court in the Shraddha Walkar murder case. According to the L-G office, advocates Madhukar Pandey and Amit Prasad are to represent Delhi Police as special public prosecutors in the matter.
Shraddha Walkar was murdered allegedly by her live-in partner Aaftab Poonawala (28) at the couple's rented flat in Delhi's Chhattarpur Pahadi area.
"L-G VK Saxena has approved the proposal of Delhi Police for the appointment of Special Public Prosecutors, to represent the State in the Trial Court in case FIR No. 659 dt. 10.11.2022 u/s 365/302/201 IPC, registered at PS Mehrauli. The matter relates to the gruesome Shraddha murder case. Madhukar Pandey and Amit Prasad, Advocates will be accordingly representing the Delhi Police as Special Public Prosecutors in the matter," the L-G office said in a statement.
(With agencies inputs)
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