Shraddha Walkar murder case: Court to hear plea of landlord for release of house

The Delhi Police has opposed the plea, stating that the case of the prosecution may be prejudiced if the possession of the flat is handed back to the landlord

A Delhi court will on Thursday hear a petition moved by the landlord seeking order against Delhi Police for release of his house which witnessed the alleged murder of Shraddha Walkar by 28-year-old Aftab Poonawalla in May 2022.

Following the 2022 incident, officials of Mehrauli Police Station locked the said flat and took possession for investigation purposes. (Representative file photo)

In his application moved earlier this month before additional sessions judge Manisha Khurana Kakkar of the Saket court, the landlord has pleaded that his property - first floor flat in Mehrauli’s Chattarpur Pahadi, should be handed back to him from police possession as the chargesheet in the case is filed and trial is in the final stages. According to him, all the material evidence and photographs of the flat are already part of the case record.

The Delhi Police, however, has opposed the plea, stating that the case of the prosecution may be prejudiced if the possession of the flat is handed back to the landlord. The police, in its reply, stated that a need may arise for a local inspection of the flat by the court under Section 310 of CrPC, the circumstances for which cannot be ruled out before completion of recording of evidence.

Section 310 of CrPC allows a judge or magistrate to visit and inspect a place where an alleged offence occurred to understand the evidence presented during a trial of a case.

On May 18, 2022, Poonawalla, a trained chef, allegedly murdered and dismembered the body of his live-in partner Walkar into several pieces. Poonawalla subsequently stored Walker’s body parts inside a 300-litre fridge for a few days, before disposing off the parts over the next 18 days at the Chhattarpur forest.

Aftab was arrested by the Delhi Police on November 12, 2022, after they noticed discrepancies in his statement. Ever since the case, the Chattarpur flat remains locked and part of the case record.

The landlord’s application cited that the flat has been lying in the custody of the police for over a year and requires repair work. Due to the flat becoming a case property, he was sustaining loss of rental income.

The application states that he gave his flat on rent to the accused Poonawalla and the deceased Walkar on May 16, 2022. Following the incident, officials of Mehrauli Police Station locked the said flat and took possession for investigation purposes.

“It is not expedient and in the interest of justice to hold the property for an uncertain period till the end of the trial of the case. Therefore, in light of the above facts, the above flat may be released at the earliest,” the application states.

The prosecution, led by special public prosecutors Amit Prasad and Madhukar Pandey, on behalf of the Delhi Police, told the court that prosecution evidence is in progress and several witnesses are being re-examined before the court. A local inspection of the incident spot by the judge may be required to understand the evidence in its entirety, the prosecution argued.

The court has posted matter for April 17 for arguments on the application and further proceeding in the case. The case is currently at the stage of recording of the statements of prosecution witnesses.