Shraddha murder case: Cops awarded for safely escorting Aaftab during attack by sword-wielding men

New Delhi: Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Arora on Tuesday awarded Rs 20,000 to the Police team for safely escorting Aaftab Amin Poonawalla, the accused in the Shraddha Walkar murder case, to Tihar Jail while some sword-wielding men attempted to attack the police van carrying him outside the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) office in Delhi.

Two sub-inspectors who were part of the DAP team that escorted Aaftab have been rewarded Rs 10,000 each. Further Rs 5,000 was awarded to two head constables. And, another constable was awarded Rs 5,000. Delhi Police said at around 6.45 pm on Monday, when Aaftab was ready to escort from the FSL laboratory to Tihar jail, the outside area of FSL was checked by the escort team as well as by local police and no suspicious movements of persons were noticed.

While, the Jail van moved from FSL Rohini office and cross the gate, suddenly a group of people armed with swords attacked the jail van but the Command of the third battalion of Delhi Armed Police (DAP) displayed the exemplary presence of mind and swiftly moved the jail van from the place so as to avoid any harm to Aaftab and the escorting staff. The commendable action of the escorting team averted a major tragedy yesterday and safely deposited the UTP at Central Jail Tihar, said Delhi Police statement.

"The timely action and tactful handling of the 3rd Bn staff averted anyuntoward incident to occur and showed professional handling to tackle any difficult situation. Today, CP Delhi has visited Vikas Puri Police Line office of 3rd Bn DAP to meet the members of the escort team and appreciate their presence of mind and tactful handling and also boost their morale. A reward of Rs 20,000 was awarded to each member," added the statement.

Meanwhile, two men with swords, who attacked the police van carrying Aaftab Amin Poonawalla outside the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) office in Delhi were sent to judicial custody.

Both the accused, Kuldeep Thakur and Nigam Gurjar, arrested after the attack on Aaftab's van on Monday, were produced in the court by the Delhi Police, from where they have been sent to judicial custody. Police said that their team is trying to identify and arrest the rest of the accused.
An FIR has also been registered under Sections 186, 353, 147, 148 and 149 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Prashant Vihar Police Station in this regard.

During the alleged clash, Aaftab was being taken by the police after his polygraph tests were done for the day.

Aaftab is accused of strangling to death his live-in partner Shraddha and chopping her body into 35 pieces. He is also alleged to have preserved the chopped body parts in a refrigerator before dumping them in forested areas in Delhi and Gurugram.

Police had earlier said Aaftab, who confessed to killing Shraddha and chopping her body into 35 pieces, was giving misleading answers to questions. Delhi Police had submitted in court that Aaftab was giving wrong information and was misleading the investigation. (ANI)