Aaftab Poonawala, who was arrested in 2022 for allegedly killing his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar in Delhi, on Wednesday moved an application before the Saket court, requesting that he be allowed to appear for court hearings through video conferencing due to an alleged threat from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. The request was granted and he was produced in court through video conferencing on Wednesday.
He moved the application days after Shivkumar Gautam, one of the associates of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi — arrested for the murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique in Mumbai — reportedly told the Mumbai Police that the gang was planning to eliminate Poonawala.
The Lawrence Bishnoi gang has claimed responsibility for Siddique murder on October 22.
Sources said Poonawala moved the application through the Tihar Jail administration. “The jail administration moved the application on his behalf and a message has been communicated to the Delhi Police,” a senior officer said.
Sources said that Gautam had told the police that Shubham Lonkar, a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, had discussed killing Poonawala with him. However, the plan was not successful owing to the heightened security around Poonawala at Tihar Jail, sources added.
Earlier this month, the Tihar administration reportedly increased Poonawala’s security after reports emerged of the threat. Two night guards were deployed to keep a check on him.
Poonawala is accused of killing Walkar and chopping her body into multiple pieces on the night of May 18 inside their house at Chattarpur Pahadi in South Delhi.
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