Aaftab Poonawala to be produced in Saket court today; remained evasive during polygraph test

Aaftab Amin Poonawala, arrested in connection with the murder of his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar, will be produced in Delhi’s Saket court as his police custody ended on Saturday. The Delhi Police is likely to seek an extension as the investigation is yet to be completed.

Poonawala, 28, is an accused of murdering Walkar, 27, at their Chhattarpur Pahadi flat on May 18 and chopping her body into at least 35 pieces. He remained largely evasive while answering questions posed by interrogators on during his polygraph test on Thursday, forensic experts aware of the matter said on Friday.

Poonawala, arrested on November 12, was taken to Delhi’s forensic science laboratory (FSL) in Rohini on Thursday evening for a polygraph test. Poonawala had undergone a marathon polygraph test of nearly eight hours. However, officials at the facility found it difficult to record his statements as he was not well.

An FSL official, on condition of anonymity, said, “Poonawala remained confident and his body language was normal during the session. He appeared to be an intelligent person with a sharp brain. He answered the normal and irrelevant questions. But he remained elusive or silent when critical questions related to the murder case were asked. It seemed he was very much aware of the polygraph test procedure.”

FSL assistant director Sanjeev Kumar Gupta, who heads the crime scene management and photo division, said police officers brought Poonawala to the laboratory around 4pm, and he underwent the polygraph session that lasted around two and a half hours. Around 7pm, the panel of psychologists concluded the test and allowed Poonawala to leave.

“The experts will now analyse the data and see if they have got the desired results. In case they find that certain data could not be analysed and created doubts, the experts may call Poonawala again. The experts will give a nod for the narco-analysis test after they are satisfied with the polygraph test results,” said Gupta, adding that the FSL will remain open on Saturday and Sunday to conduct the narco test.

Meanwhile, the incident has also taken a political turn with Union home minister Amit Shah assuring “strict punishment” to the accused in minimal possible time, while the CPI(M) has alleged that the murder and dismemberment of Walker by her Muslim boyfriend was being used for “communal propaganda”.