A Delhi court Thursday allowed the Delhi Police to conduct a narco analysis test on Aaftab Poonawala (28), who has been accused of killing his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar, his legal aid counsel submitted, adding that the accused consented to the test. Metropolitan Magistrate Aviral Shukla, who presided over the hearing, remanded Aftaab to five-day police custody. MM Shukla had conducted the proceedings through video conferencing after police said “some religious organisations and miscreants may attack” the accused. “I would request everyone to abide by the rule of law. Some may feel that justice is not done. But justice will be dispensed. I am aware of the sensitivity and media coverage it has received,” said MM Shukla. Police had moved two applications, one seeking extension of Aaftab’s custody by 10 days and the other requesting video conferencing as they had received information that “some religious organisations and miscreants may attack the accused”. As the judge adjourned the matter till 4 pm, the crowd outside the court room swelled, with lawyers raising slogans calling for Aaftab to be given the death penalty. Legal aid counsel Avinash, who appeared for Aaftab, claimed that the prosecution asked for 10 days custody to take him to Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, the two states he visited with his girlfriend before her murder. Avinash also claimed that the prosecution largely argued that Aaftab's replies during questioning were evasive and his attitude non-cooperative. During the narco test hearing, the court had walked Aaftab through the consequences of agreeing to the test. He told the judge that he understood the consequences of the test and consented to the same, Avinash claimed. Aaftab has been accused of chopping the 27-year-old woman’s body into more than 30 parts and disposing of them over two-three months. Both Aaftab and Shraddha hailed from Vasai in Maharashtra’s Palghar district and shifted to Delhi this year after their families did not support their relationship. They had met each other through a dating app and visited hill stations in March and April, before deciding to stay in Delhi.
