Shraddha Walkar murder case: Lawyers at Delhi court shout slogans, demand Aftab Poonawala be hanged

A large group of lawyers were seen shouting slogans outside the courtroom in the national capital New Delhi. They were demanding the death penalty for Aftab Poonawala, the accused in the macabre killing of his girlfriend Shraddha Walkar.

Poonawala was produced before a local court via video conference at around 4 pm today for a custody hearing. According to news reports, Police feared he would be attacked, which is why the court had permitted using a video link from the jail.

The large group of lawyers, who were expecting Poonawala would be brought in, began shouting slogans like “hang him, hang him.” The lawyers’ made this protest after the case reignited debates on “love jihad”, which accuses Muslim men of luring Hindu women to convert them to Islam.

Reportedly, cops had asked the court for seven more days of Poonawala’s custody. They have been interrogating him for five days so far and wanted to extend Poonawala’s custody to gather more material evidence.

Police have recovered 13 body parts, believed to be of the woman, from different areas which will be sent for DNA analysis. The investigating team is also likely to approach the dating app Bumble through which the duo met.

28-year-old Poonawala had allegedly strangled Walkar in May and chopped her body into 35 pieces which he kept in a 300-litre fridge for almost three weeks at his residence in South Delhi’s Mehrauli before dumping them across the city over several days past midnight.

The crime was uncovered after Vikas Walkar, Shraddha’s father, who had not been in touch with her for over a year, went to the cops around a month ago. Vikas was allegedly opposing the inter-faith relationship between Shraddha and Aftab.

According to the police, his confession led them to the details, and evidence to corroborate the criminal trial is being collected. However, legal experts point out that a confession in police custody isn’t valid evidence unless made in front of a judicial officer.

Moreover, cops have also sought permission for a lie-detector test on Aftab, who after being asked by the judge whether he is aware of the consequences of Narco, said yes and gave consent.

Meanwhile, the Mira-Bhayander Vasai Virar (MBVV) police are clueless about the current location of the family members of Poonawala who had vacated their flat in a housing society in Vasai a fortnight ago and are believed to have shifted to the Mira Road area.

(With input from agencies)