Shraddha Murder: Court Allows Narco Test for Accused, Extends Police Custody

Poonawala was arrested on 12 November after he confessed to having murdered his partner, Shraddha Walkar in May.

Without any jurisdiction, Manikpur cops say they took suo moto cognisance, and launched an enquiry into the Shraddha Walkar case.

(Photo: Aroop Mishra/The Quint)

A Delhi court on Thursday, 17 November, extended the police custody of Aaftab Poonawala, accused of murdering 26-year-old Shraddha Walkar, by five days.

The court also allowed the police application seeking permission for a narco-analysis test.

Poonawala was produced before the court via video conferencing after the police said "some religious organisations and miscreants may attack him," if he were to physically appear there.

He was arrested on 12 November after he confessed to the Delhi Police that he had murdered and strangled his partner Walkar, who lived with him.

As per the Delhi Police, the couple, who hailed from Mumbai, had shifted to Delhi around May this year.

"The murder took place on 18 May... We filed a case and initiated investigation after the Mumbai Police approached us with a missing person report (for Shraddha) on 8 November," ADCP Ankit Chauhan had told The Quint.

Poonawala and Walkar met each other in 2019 through a dating app, as per the police, and had private jobs. Chauhan told The Quint, "In Delhi too, the two had private jobs."

The couple shifted to Delhi after their families opposed their relationship, and started living in a rented accommodation in south Delhi's Chhattarpur, as per ADCP Chauhan.

"They came to Delhi in April end-May first week. Before that, they had gone to a hill station together," the official said.

ADCP Chauhan further alleged that the couple quarrelled frequently, and "it used to get out of control. In this particular instance, the man lost his temper and killed her. The murder took place in mid-May."

He claimed that Poonawala killed Walkar after she suspected him of infidelity, which had resulted in a fight.

How Was the Murder Discovered?

While Walkar was murdered in May, it was only six months later that her death came to be known, as she was not in touch with anyone in her family.

"The woman's mother had passed away a few years ago. She was barely in touch with her father and brother. Her parents were estranged before the mother passed away. So, no one found out that she had been missing for so long," ADCP Chauhan told The Quint.

In September, a friend of Walkar's informed her brother that the two friends had not been in touch for 2.5 months, and that her mobile phone was switched off. On 14 September, her father, a resident of Palghar, lodged a complaint at Manik Pur police station in Mumbai.

"The victim's father said that the friends of the woman had not been able to contact her and that she had not been active on social media either," the Delhi Police said in a briefing.

The Mumbai police informed Delhi police on 8 November. ADCP Chauhan alleged that they then questioned Poonawala who "admitted that he had murdered Walkar."

"After the Mumbai police came to us on 8 November, we filed an FIR and initiated action. We traced her live-in partner. When we brought her live-in partner for questioning, he initially said that there was a fight between the two of them after which Walkar left. When we questioned more, he confessed that Walkar was with him and that he murdered her. He had strangled her."

After Poonawala's statement, an FIR was registered in the case under sections 365 (kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person), 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) of the Indian Penal Code on 10 November.