Narco analysis test on Aftab Poonawala completed at Ambedkar hospital in Delhi

Aftab Amin Poonawala, accused of killing Shraddha Walkar, was taken to the Ambedkar Hospital around 8:35 AM for the medical examination ahead of the narco analysis test.

New Delhi, Dec 01: The 28-year-old Aftab Amin Poonawala, accused of killing his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar, underwent a narco analysis test at Ambedkar hospital in Rohini on Thursday as part of the ongoing investigation.

According to officials, Poonawala reached the Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital in Rohini at 8.40 am, as reported by PTI.

Before undergoing narco analysis test, a general check-up would be done to check his blood pressure, pulse rate, body temperature and heart beat. If all the required parameters are met, then the accused would be taken for narco analysis test, officials told PTI.

A consent form with complete details of Poonawala and the team conducting his narco test will be read out to him as part of the procedure. After he signs the form, the narco analysis procedure would be conducted, a senior official said.

What is narco test?

Narco analysis involves intravenous administration of a drug (such as sodium pentothal, scopolamine, and sodium amytal) that causes the person undergoing it to enter into various stages of anaesthesia, as reported by news agency PTI.

In the hypnotic stage, the person becomes less inhibited and is more likely to divulge information, which would usually not be revealed in the conscious state.

Investigating agencies use this test after other pieces of evidence do not provide a clear picture of the case.

Aftab's nature deceptive:

The Delhi Police had earlier said it sought Poonawalla's narco analysis test as his responses during interrogation were 'deceptive' in nature.

Is it admissible evidence in court?

The Supreme Court has ruled that narco-analysis, brain mapping, and polygraph tests cannot be conducted on any person without his or her consent. Also, statements made during this test are not admissible as primary evidence in the court, except under certain circumstances when the bench thinks that the facts and nature of the case permit it.

A love story doomed from the start:

Aftab and Shraddha met through a dating app Bumble in 2019 and later moved in together at a rented accommodation in Delhi's Chhattarpur area. Her parents were against the inter-faith relationship and had stopped talking to her after she decided to move to Delhi with him.

Poonawala allegedly strangled his live-in partner, Shraddha Walkar, and sawed her body into 35 pieces, which he kept in a 300-litre fridge for almost three weeks at his Mehrauli residence in South Delhi's Mehrauli, before dumping them across the city over several days in the dark of night.

Aftab was arrested on November 12 and sent to five-day police custody, which was further extended by five days on November 17. On November 22, he was sent to police custody for four days. The court on November 26, sent him to judicial custody for 13 days.