A Delhi Court on Tuesday framed murder and disappearance of evidence charges against Aaftab Amin Poonawala, a south Delhi resident  accused of murdering his live-in girlfriend Shraddha Walkar and chopping her body into pieces in May last year.

However, Poonawala, who was accompanied by his lawyer, denied all charges against him and demanded a trial, following which the court listed further proceedings in the case on June 1.

Pronouncing the order against Poonawala at a Saket court,  Additional Sessions Judge Manisha Khurana Kakkar said the accused is charged with offences of murder and dissappearance of evidence under Indian Penal Code sections 302 and 201.

Reading out the order Justice Kakkar said: “On May 18, 2022, after 6:30 am, you committed the murder of Shraddha Walkar and the offence is punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Between May 18 and October 18, knowing that offence has been committed, you cut her body into pieces with an intention to disappear evidence, and disposed of her body in Chattarpur and in other places. You have, thereby, committed the offence of disappearance of evidence.”

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On January 24, 6,629-page charge sheet was filed against Poonawala by the Delhi which detailed how the accused allegedly strangled his girlfriend Shraddha Walkar to death on May 18 last year and then sawed her body into 35 pieces which he then kept in a 300-litre fridge for almost three weeks at his south Delhi home in Mehrauli.

The 28-year-old Aaftab Amin Poonawala, then dumped the pieces of Walkar’s body in the woods near Chattarpur and other nearby places in a bid to destroy evidence. He was arrested in November last year and has been booked under IPC sections 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence).

The Delhi Police has since managed to recover some of pieces of the victim’s body which after forensic testing have been confirmed as belonging to Walkar.

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Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Delhi Education Minister Atishi Singh on Sunday claimed that the probe agencies have no evidence of the Arvind Kejriwal-led party receiving any kickbacks in the purported liquor policy case and the investigation by the Enforcement Directorate has proved that the AAP is the “most honest party” in the country.

Speaking at a presser, Atishi claimed that there was no evidence of the Rs 100 crore kickbacks recieved by AAP or the Rs 30 crore allegedly used by the Delhi Chief Minister’s party for electoral campaign in Goa Assembly elections, as alleged by the BJP and later mentioned in the ED chargesheet against AAP leaders.

Citing a Delhi court order, the Delhi minister said that the CBI and the ED have raided and interrogated all the vendors in Goa and even after six months, they have no evidence to back their claims of Rs 100 crore kickbacks when everyone who has testified in court, has said that the AAP spent Rs 19 lakh in cash and rest in cheques for poll campaigning in Goa elections.

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Atishi said that in a 86-page order, a Delhi court judge reiterated that the ED hadn’t produced a single piece of evidence to back their charges against the AAP and its leaders, adding that the ED probe proved that the AAP is “most honest party” in the country.

The AAP leader also talked about the against Manish Sisodia, saying that while the ED had claimed that the jailed former Delhi Deputy CM had destroyed 14 mobile phones to erase evidence, it has been found that out of the purported 14 phones, seven were seized by the ED and CBI, while the remaining seven devices are still in use.

Atishi claimed that AAP leader Sanjay Singh was issued a notice by the ED due to pressure from the Prime Minister’s Office, however, when Singh sent them a legal notice,  the probe agency apologized and said they put his name by mistake.

The AAP minister, while reiterating that the alleged liquor policy scam never actually took place, said that neither the ED nor the CBI has any shred of evidence against Sisodia or any other AAP leader.

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A 17-year-old boy was shot dead, while another minor sustained bullet injuries in his leg, during a firing incident at a Hookah bar in Delhi’s Govindpuri area, officials said on Saturday.

According to the police, the cops received a call at around 3:15 pm on Saturday about a firing incident at a secret Hookah bar in Govindpuri extension and immediately a team was rushed to the scene where they found a pool of blood and tissues lying on the floor.

A senior police official said that the Hookah bar had been officially closed on April and was being run illegally in a clandestine manner on the building’s first floor.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Rajesh Deo said that the deceased victim, identified as 17-year-old Kunal, had been shot in the head. Kunal was rushed to the AIIMS Trauma center where doctors declared him brought dead, adding that police also arrived at the hospital and took custody of the victim’s body.

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The senior officer said that another minor boy, Rahul, sustained a bullet injury in his leg and is currently undergoing treatment at the hospital.

The DCP said that the police have launched an investigation to find out the details behind the bar shooting and why things escalated to the point where guns were fired, adding that its also being investigated if the guns used in the shooting were registered or obtained illegally.

According to local reports, a group of friends were hosting a birthday party at the Hookah bar.

The Delhi Police said that a case has been registered in this regard and during initial investigation, using local sources and scanning of CCTV footage, the involvement of local thugs has been uncovered.

They said that one suspect, a juvenile, has been identified in connection with the case, adding that further investigation is underway.