Van carrying Aaftab attacked, 2 men held

A group of men from a fringe right-wing Hindu outfit, some wielding swords, on Monday tried to attack Aaftab Poonawala outside the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) offices in Rohini while Delhi Police personnel were escorting him back to Tihar jail, officers said, adding that two of the men have been arrested.

Poonawala, 28, is accused of killing his girlfriend Shraddha Walkar, 27, at their flat in south Delhi’s Chhattarpur Pahadi on May 18, chopping her body into at least 35 pieces, and then dumping the body parts in forested areas in and around the Capital. He was arrested for Walkar’s murder on November 12, and over the last week, police have been taking him to the FSL offices for polygraph tests to help them in recovering Walkar’s body parts.

On Monday evening, a fivemember team from the third battalion of the Delhi Armed Police was escorting Poonawala back to Tihar from the FSL offices when a car intercepted the police van. In a video that has since emerged on social media, a policeman steps out of the van to control the situation and tells the men to step back while waving his revolver. After a few minutes, the prison van manages to leave the spot.

Deputy commissioner of police (Rohini) Guriqbal Singh Sidhu said two men were arrested from the spot. The accused, identified as Kuldeep Thakur and Nigam, are residents of Gurugram.

“We have registered a first information report and are questioning the two men. Further legal action against them will be taken accordingly,” said Sidhu.

An officer from the third battalion, on condition of anonymity, said the local police did not deploy enough personnel.

However, Sidhu dismissed the allegation, saying, “We made sufficient arrangements outside the forensic lab.”

Meanwhile, FSL assistant director Sanjeev Kumar Gupta said Poonawala’s polygraph test is yet to be completed, and is likely to resume on Tuesday.

“Poonawala was much more responsive and cooperative on Monday as compared to his previous sessions,” he said.