Shraddha Walkar murder case: Aftab Poonawala pleads not guilty after Delhi court files charges of murder

A court in Saket, Delhi, on Tuesday, framed charges against Aftab Poonawala, who allegedly killed his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar and chopped her body into pieces. The case surfaced in November 2022, shaking the entire nation. The Delhi Police booked Poonawala under Sections 302 (murder) Section 201 (destruction of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code, which has now been framed by the court after examining evidence produced by the police.  

Poonawala, however, denied the charges and demanded a trial. Additional Sessions Judge Manisha Khurana Kakkar posted the matter for further proceedings on June 1. 

The Delhi Police filed a 6,629-page chargesheet in the case on January 24. The Delhi Police have stated that Poonawala, with the knowledge that a crime had been committed, attempted to conceal evidence by dismembering the body and scattering its parts in different locations.  

The court has emphasised the charges against Poonawala and asked for his understanding and acknowledgment of these charges. In reply, Poonawala, after hearing the charges, pleaded not guilty and demanded a trial. 

Last month, Walkar's father demanded that the case be fast-tracked so that he can perform his daughter’s last rites, and threatened to go on a hunger strike if it was not done within a month. 

The court had earlier adjourned till May 9 the hearing on an application by Walkar urging the judge that his daughter's remains be handed over to the family for the last rites. 

The case so far 

Walkar was allegedly strangled by Poonawala in the month of May last year. He cut her body into several pieces and kept them in a fridge for almost three weeks at his rented accommodation in Delhi's Mehrauli. He gradually disposed of the body parts at different places. 

Poonawala was arrested in November 2022. Till now, the Delhi Police have conducted a narco-analysis test, a polygraph test, and collected DNA evidence to establish the allegations against Poonawala. 

More than 150 witnesses were reportedly examined and their statements have been recorded.  

Poonawala and Walkar first met through an online dating app in 2019 and started working for the same call centre in Mumbai. They fell in love, but their families objected to the relationship. Following that, they moved to Mehrauli in Delhi and stayed in rented accommodation.  

In April, the Delhi High Court restrained all news channels from airing contents of the chargesheet, ruling that the telecast of the recording of the narco analysis would prejudice the case. 

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