Shraddha Murder Case: Aftab Poonawala’s Consent Needed For Polygraph Test, Says Forensic Expert
A dentist in Mehrauli whom police had consulted told TOI he had been shown a photograph of a section of a jawbone which had been recovered. “They told me that Shraddha had dental treatment in Mumbai and wanted a second opinion on their line of inquiry,” he said. It is routine for dentists to maintain medical records. A forensic match of these documents with the recovered remains will confirm his identity. The police investigation also revealed that Aaftab Poonawala may have used at least 3-4 types of tools to allegedly cut the body.
‘nail, hammers used to split jaw and skull’
Sources said he had bought four hex blades/saws, two hammers and about 250-300 grams of nails. The nails and hammers would have been used to break off parts such as the jaw and skull. The police recorded the statement of the owner of the hardware store from which Aaftab allegedly bought these tools. The shop is just a 7-10 minute walk from your rental accommodation. The shop owner, Rajan Bansal, told TOI that the police had brought Aaftab with them claiming he was involved in a theft case and they wanted to check if he bought the equipment from there.
When the policemen took him to the shop, Aaftab himself allegedly took a blade and told the policemen that it was similar to the one he had bought. He is said to have told cops at the shop that he bought four blades from there along with a saw frame. Aaftab allegedly told police he bought these things on May 18. “However, I don’t know the exact date or time,” Bansal said. CCTV cameras are installed in the shop but old recordings are not saved. One store employee, who declined to be named, said: ‘He was very calm when he told the cops about his shopping list. His face was covered.
The stuff he bought is used to cut pipes. So far, more than 35 items, including bones, clothing and sharp objects, have been recovered from the lowland and forested areas of Aaftab during search operations. It is suspected that the defendant carried out a reconnaissance of the areas before dumping the body parts. “We suspect that he has chosen areas frequented by few people,” said a source.
Police have yet to locate the shop from which the chemicals were purchased by Aaftab. The detectives could take it back to his apartment to recreate the sequence of events since some discrepancies were found last time. Meanwhile, the cops are trying to recover some deleted chats from Aaftab’s phone. They are also investigating whether the defendant switched the SD cards in his gadgets. “They are also creating a location map to establish where Shraddha and Aftab have been seen together. It will help the cops nail Aaftab’s lies,” a source said.
