Father quizzed, Aaftab’s polygraph test continues
Delhi Police officers on Thursday recorded Aaftab Poonawala’s father’s statement, said investigators aware of the matter, even as forensic experts in the city said the suspect’s second polygraph test session was cut short after he fell ill for a second straight day.
Poonawala is accused of murdering his girlfriend Shraddha Walkar this May, chopping up her body and dumping the body parts in woods in and around Delhi.
According to a police officer probing the case, Poonawala’s father, Amin, was questioned in Delhi on Thursday in connection with the case, his son’s behaviour, and his relationship with Walkar.
“According to the father, Poonawala used to live independently and was aloof. He wouldn’t keep in touch a lot and talk a lot with the family,” the officer said.
In November 2020, Walkar filed a complaint at the Tullinj police station in Palghar, Maharashtra, stating that Poonawala threatened to kill her and cut up her body, according to a copy of the complaint seen by HT.
Maharashtra Police officers said no FIR was filed because Walkar backed away after Poonawala’s parents spoke to her.
On Thursday, Delhi Police officers took Poonawala, 28, to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Rohini around 11.50 am for the polygraph test. The procedure was initiated on Tuesday. Following the polygraph test, doctors are set to conduct a narco-analysis test on Poonawala at a city hospital.
FSL assistant director Sanjeev Gupta said, “The test went on for hours. He developed fever during the session and it could not be completed. He may be called again on Friday if he feels alright.”
On Wednesday too, the session could not be conducted as the 28-year-old was down with a fever and cold, officials aware of the matter said. The narco-analysis and polygraph tests are inadmissible in court. However, through these tests, police hope to verify if Poonawala has been honest about his version of the murder.
The gruesome crime was unearthed last week after Poonawala told the police that he murdered Walkar, 27, at their Chhattarpur flat six months ago, chopped her body into at least 35 pieces and dumped the body parts in south Delhi, Gurugram and Faridabad.