Want to pursue higher studies, proper soft copy of 6,000-page chargesheet, says Aftab Poonawala in new plea

New Delhi, Feb 13: Aftab Poonawala, accused of killing his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar and chopping her body into pieces, on Monday filed applications in court for release of his educational certificates to pursue higher studies and for a "proper" digital copy of the chargesheet. He is accused of killing his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar and disposing her body after cutting it into several pieces.

Poonawala's applications alleged that he was "falsely implicated" in the case and that the prosecution "intentionally" provided a digital copy of the chargesheet "which cannot be read".

A court here had taken cognisance of the Delhi Police's chargesheet on February 7 and posted the matter for further proceedings on February 21.

The first application filed by Poonawala's counsel advocate M S Khan said he was "falsely implicated in the present case" and was "languishing" in the Tihar Jail here. "That the applicant or accused wants to pursue his higher studies so he wants all his certificates," it said. It also said Poonawala "urgently" required the stationery items such as pen, pencil and notebook.

The second application requested that a soft or digital copy of the chargesheet be provided to Poonawala in a "proper" way . The Delhi Police had filed a 6,629-page chargesheet on January 24 in the case. "That on the last date of hearing... the applicant was supplied the chargesheet but the chargesheet in the soft copy or pen drive is not proper as the prosecution intentionally provided the soft copy which cannot be read," the application said.

It claimed that the pen drive was "overloaded" and not supported by advanced computers and that the video footage was "mismanaged". "It is, therefore, prayed that this court may kindly be pleased to pass an order directing the investigating officer to supply the soft copy in a folder-wise manner and the video footage may be in other pen drives as filed in the chargesheet, in the interest of justice," the application said.

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 Chhatarpur. 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 Shraddha and chopped off her body into 17-18 peices which he kept in a 300-litre refrigerator for almost three weeks at his residence in South Delhi's Mehrauli before dumping them across the city over several days.

The police said that the couple would fight regularly over issues such as marriage and who would bear the household expenses. On May 18, he strangled her to death and then set out to buy a knife and fridge. Following a missing person's complaint filed by Shraddha's father on November 10 as her daughter was untraceable for over two months. An FIR was registered against the attackers under Sections 186, 353, 147, 148 and 149 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Prashant Vihar Police Station in connection with the case.

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 in Delhi on December 23, sent him to judicial custody for 14 days.