Draft charge sheet on Walkar murder ready

A mix of forensic and electronic evidence along with the testimonies of 55 people is likely to form the core of Delhi Police's prosecution of Aaftab Poonawala, who has been accused of murdering his girlfriend Shraddha Walkar and getting rid of her body piece by piece, according to officials who cited details from a draft charge sheet.

- Prawesh Lama

NEW DELHI: 

Running into more than 3,000 pages, the charge sheet sets out to tie a host of circumstantial clues and confessions to police by Poonawala, normally not admissible in a trial, with material evidence such as DNA matches of human remains and mobile network logs.

"We have received the crucial test reports such as the DNA profiling evidence that confirmed the bones are Walkar's.

Many test results are yet to come. Apart from it, the electronic evidence connects Poonawala to the murder. The two types of evidence (forensic and electronic) prove our case beyond doubt that she was murdered by Poonawala. This is enough to support our case," said a police officer, asking not to be named.

Walkar's murder in May last year did not come to light for months, and police spent weeks trying to find remains of her body, which Poonawala purportedly confessed to having chopped up in 35 pieces before scattering them in urban forests in South Delhi.

From a prosecution standpoint, Poonawala's confession to police would not have been enough for a conviction. The key breakthrough came when 13 decomposed body parts, mostly pieces of bones, retrieved on Poonawala's insistence led to a DNA match that confirmed the 27-year-old was murdered.