NEW DELHI: A formal trial in the grisly murder case of Shraddha Walker, whose body was allegedly chopped into multiple pieces by her live-in partner Aaftab Ameen Poonawala, will start before a principal sessions judge in Delhi on Friday. Poonawala, the main accused, has been instructed by magistrate Aviral Shukla to submit a new plea before the principal district and sessions judge, Saket, regarding his request to bring religious books to his hearings. Additionally, the magistrate has referred the case to a higher court.1/10Chilling details of Shraddha Walker murder caseShow CaptionsAaftab Poonawala (28) killed his live-in partner Shraddha Walker at Delhi flat on May 18 and was arrested on November 11. <br />Aaftab chopped body into 35 pieces & bought a 300-litre fridge to store them.<br /><p>Every night after 2am, Aaftab would dump Shraddha’s body parts in forest areas in Mehrauli.</p>Aaftab took inspiration from TV show ‘Dexter’. <br />Shraddha’s family did not approve of the relationship following which couple came to Delhi.<br />Aaftab was active on dating apps post Shraddha’s murder.<br /><p>Shraddha’s father demanded death sentence for the accused. <br /></p>Police took Aaftab to Mehrauli forest to find Shraddha’s body parts. <br />Shraddha’s phone, skull and murder weapon still missing. <br />Magistrate Shukla noted that the chargesheet was filed under sections 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence or giving false information to screen offender) of the Indian Penal Code.Shraddha Walkar murder case: Aaftab Poonawala seeks chargesheet in folders, certificates”Scrutiny of documents is complete… Section 302 of the IPC is exclusively triable by a sessions court. Accordingly, the accused be produced before the principal district and sessions judge on February 24 at 2pm,” the magistrate said. Aaftab Poonawala planned to dump Shraddha Walkar’s body parts in Himachal Pradesh, got cold feet: Delhi cops”The case is now committed to the sessions court,” he added. Earlier in the day, Poonawala was produced in the Metropolitan Magistrate Aviral Shukla’s court and he requested he be allowed to carry a book of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), a notebook and a pen during the proceedings so that he could make notes and assist his advocate. He also requested the court to grant permission to carry a religious book to the court. The magistrate directed Poonawala to file an application for this before the sessions court concerned. During the proceedings, the magistrate asked Poonawala if he has been given a physical copy of the chargesheet and if the pages were legible. He replied in the affirmative. Advocate M S Khan, who is representing Poonawala, informed the court that two applications were already filed in this court, one for the accused’s educational certificates and stationery items such as notepad and pencil, and the other for a proper” soft copy of the chargesheet. Khan also said the footage related to the case provided to him in the pen drive were not in a sequence. “The footage where Shraddha Walkar is talking on the Practo App is in small parts of 10-12 seconds duration each. They are not in a series or sequence,” he said. The investigating officer (IO) replied that the soft copy of the chargesheet provided to Khan was divided into various folders and also included various footage such as those from the Practo App, crime scene photographs and pictures of the recoveries made during the investigation. He said that everything pertaining to the investigation was already provided to Khan in the same manner as received by the police. Khan agreed that the pen drive provided to him consisted of two parts — the chargesheet and the FIR folders. “Whatever is available, we will provide. The idea is to provide the chargesheet to the accused,” the magistrate said. He also asked Khan to “coordinate” with Poonawala. The voluminous 6,629-page charge sheet was filed by the Delhi Police on January 24 and the court took its cognisance on February 7.(With inputs from PTI)
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/shraddha-walker-murder-case-formal-trial-to-begin-on-february-24-aaftab-poonawala-to-be-produced-before-sessions-court/articleshow/98125497.cms