Delhi court orders Tihar Jail to ensure Aftab Poonawala’s safety after death threats from inmates
A Delhi court has directed the Tihar Jail authorities to take immediate steps to ensure the safety of Aftab Amin Poonawala, accused of murdering his live-in partner Shraddha Vikas Walkar in 2022, inside his prison cell, after he alleged that he had received death threats from fellow inmates.Additional Sessions Judge Hargurvarinder Singh Jaggi of Saket courts gave the directions after Poonawala, who had allegedly strangled Walkar in a fit of rage following an argument and purportedly chopped her body into pieces on May 18, 2022, told the court that he had been receiving threats from inmates for the past few days.Poonawala, currently lodged in a special cell of Tihar Jail, which is also the punishment ward, had stored Walkar’s body parts in the fridge of his house in Chattarpur Pahari and purportedly disposed of them in a nearby forest over the span of several days.Also Read: Delhi HC refuses to fix timeline for trial in Shraddha Walkar murder caseThe judge also asked the jail authorities to consider shifting Poonawala to a different ward or cell, if need be, after he alleged that some inmates had repeatedly threatened him for the past 10 days, saying they would slash his face with “improvised weapons” and cause him bodily harm.“The accused submits that for the past 10 days, few of the inmates have repeatedly imparted death threats, to cause bodily harm to him that they will slash his face with improvised weapons, sua (needle),” the court said in its order passed on Monday.Poonawala, the court said, disclosed the names of five such inmates in his submissions.
“In view of the submissions made by accused Aftab Amin Poonawala, the Court deems fit to direct the concerned jail superintendent to take immediate steps to ensure safety and security of the accused,” the order said.The court added that “if required, the accused may be kept in a separate ward or cell away from the notorious inmates”.Also Read: Bishnoi threat: Security of Aftab Poonawala strengthened in Tihar jailThe judge observed, “Needless to remind the jail superintendent and all the concerned authorities that the safety of an undertrial prisoner is a top priority and one of the hallmark principles of the criminal justice system”.“It is the duty of the State to keep UTPs (undertrial prisoners) safe and secure, which is within the realm of a right to fair trial of an accused,” the judge said.The court directed the concerned jail superintendent to file a report on the action taken at the earliest.“Let a copy of the order be transmitted to the concerned Jail Superintendent and also to the IO/SHO PS Mehrauli for information and compliance**,**” the order said.Police filed a charge sheet in January 2023, charging Poonawala under the penal sections of murder, abduction and destruction of evidence, claiming that he killed and dismembered Walkar’s body using a knife, scissors and a saw.
The charge sheet held that Poonawala was enraged over the fact that Walkar was talking to a person she had met through a dating app.In May 2023, a Delhi court framed charges against Poonawala, then 28, holding that the prosecution had placed on record sufficient material against him. After Poonawala pleaded not guilty, the trial was set in motion.The case is currently pending trial at a fast-track court, with the prosecution witnesses yet to be examined.As evidence, the prosecution has relied on both circumstantial and corroborative material, including the alleged recovery of bones, a bunch of hair and the deceased’s jaw, apart from blood traces around the Chattarpur house and testimonies of witnesses who confirmed the sequence of events leading up to the murder.
