Shraddha Walkar murder: Aaftab Amin Poonawala wants law books to assist his lawyer fight case

New Delhi: A court in the national capital on Tuesday (January 10, 2023) extended the judicial custody of Aaftab Amin Poonawala, who is accused of killing his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar, for two weeks. The 28-year-old was produced before Metropolitan Magistrate Aviral Shukla in the court lockup. The court had extended Poonawala's judicial custody by four days last Friday and had sought his physical production.

Poonawala allegedly sawed Walkar's body into 35 pieces and kept them in a 300-liter fridge for almost three weeks at his residence in Delhi's Mehrauli before dumping them across the capital over several days in May last year.

Meanwhile, Poonawala informed the court that he had given a written application to prison authorities to provide him with books on the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), but despite the request being approved, the books were not made available, his counsel MS Khan said.

"The judge asked Poonawala whether he wanted to fight his case, to which he said lawyers will defend me but I will assist my lawyer after reading these books," Khan added.

"The jail authorities submitted that they will provide him with the books he has requested," Khan said.

Poonawala had also moved an application for releasing his credit and debit cards from the custody of Delhi Police. 

His plea submitted that the accused had been in custody since November and that he has no money to buy clothes for the winter season. 

It was submitted that access to his debit and credit cards will enable the accused to buy clothes and day-to-day articles for the winter season.

The Delhi Police informed the court that Poonawala's debit and credit cards were seized as part of the ongoing investigation and would be released after filing the charge sheet.

The court, however, directed the prison authorities concerned to provide Poonawala with warm clothes.

Earlier last month, the Tihar jail authorities had provided Aaftab Poonawala with Paul Theroux's railway odyssey 'The Great Railway Bazaar' following his request.