‘Aaftab evasive during polygraph test’

Aaftab Poonawala, who is accused of murdering his girlfriend Shraddha Walkar in May and chopping her body into at least 35 pieces, remained evasive while answering questions posed by interrogators on during his polygraph test on Thursday, forensic experts aware of the matter said on Friday.

A forensic science laboratory (FSL) official, on condition of anonymity, said, “Poonawala appeared to be an intelligent person with a sharp brain. He answered the irrelevant questions, but remained elusive or silent when critical questions related to the case were asked.”

FSL assistant director Sanjeev Kumar Gupta, who heads the crime scene management and photo division, said, “The experts will now analyse the data and see if they have got the desired results...the experts will give a nod for the narco-analysis test after they are satisfied with the polygraph test results.”

Meanwhile, police teams investigating Walkar’s murder have recorded the statement of a key witness named Badri. According to police, the couple met Badri in Himachal Pradesh and accompanied him to Delhi’s Chhattarpur Pahadi, where he helped them get an accommodation in the same neighbourhood.

According to his landlord, Badri vacated his flat in May, and police are now trying to establish if Badri was aware of Walkar’s murder and he left his flat for that reason.