Tests Found Aftab Poonawala Had "Psycho, Sociopathic" Tendencies: Sources

Aftab Poonawala, the accused in the Shraddha Walkar murder case, showed psycho and sociopathic tendencies during polygraph tests in 2022, sources have said.

The tests included aggressive tendency scale, Eysenck personality test, picture frustration test and emotional maturity test. Sources said the results indicated personality traits marked by emotional detachment, lack of empathy and manipulative behaviour.

The Eysenck personality inventory measures two pervasive and independent dimensions of personality, called extraversion-introversion and neuroticism-stability. Picture frustration test is another method to check how a person handles everyday stress and aggression.

During the assessments, he did not show any remorse for the crime, sources said. His main concern remained "self-preservation" and he looked for ways on how he could save himself from legal consequences.

These forensics details emerged amid developments in the case from May 2022, when Poonawala killed his live-in partner Walkar, dismembered her body and scattered them at different places over several days.

On July 11, the lawyer representing Walkar's family alleged the defence in the 2022 murder case had been "deliberately delaying" the trial, due to which they will go to the Delhi High Court for a speedy hearing.

Lawyer Seema Samridhi Kushwaha said this after a local court cancelled a hearing in the case scheduled on July 20 because Poonawala had informed the court that he would be appearing for his MA (Sociology) examination at an IGNOU centre in Tihar jail on the same day.

"The trial has already faced delays. The court had previously fixed hearings from July 20 to July 27. However, Aftab Amin Poonawala's side filed an application stating he had an exam on July 20, following which the court cancelled that date. We were not given an alternative date," the lawyer said.

She said the delay in the trial has prevented the family from performing Walkar's last rites since her body parts "constitute the case property", which  cannot be released until the trial ends. Consequently, the last rites could not be carried out.

Walkar's mother died in 2020. Her father died of a heart attack in February 2025; he had been deeply troubled by the murder of his daughter. Her grandmother also died some time later.

"She has a brother who visits occasionally, but I am representing them," the lawyer said.