Shraddha Walkar, who was allegedly killed by her boyfriend Aaftab Poonawala in Might and her physique hacked into 35 items, filed a police criticism in November 2020 and stated her associate had threatened to do precisely that — kill her and minimize up her physique — in accordance with a replica of the criticism seen by HT.
Maharashtra Police officers stated that Walkar filed the criticism at Tullinj Police Station in Palghar on November 23, 2020 however added that no first data report was filed as a result of Walkar backed off after Poonawala’s mother and father spoke to her. A social employee assigned to the case corroborated this model of occasions.
Within the criticism, Walkar stated Poonawala had been abusing her and beating her for six months, and on the day she wrote the letter, even tried to kill her by suffocating her. “…He scares and blackmails me that he’ll kill me, minimize me up in items, and throw me away. It’s been six months that he has been hitting me however I didn’t have the heart to go to the police as a result of he would threaten to kill me,” she wrote within the criticism, seen by HT.
A Delhi Police official conscious of the investigation stated the letter is a part of the probe, and can be utilized to determine the difficulty within the their relationship.
Within the letter, Walkar wrote that his mother and father go to them over the weekends, they usually have been conscious that he beat Walkar. In keeping with Walkar’s letter, the 2 have been dwelling collectively and deliberate to get married quickly, however she didn’t wish to stick with him any longer. On the time, Shraddha and Aaftab used to dwell in Regal Flats in Vasai (east).
“I lived with him [Poonawala] until date as we have been alleged to get married anytime quickly and had the blessing of his household. Henceforth, I’m not keen to dwell with him so any form of bodily harm ought to be thought of coming from him as he has been blackmailing me to kill me or harm me at any time when he sees me anyplace,” Walkar wrote.
Suhas Bavche, deputy commissioner of police for Palghar, stated officers from the police station had begun investigating the criticism and visited the home she shared with Poonawala. “We made enquiries and have been within the course of to register an FIR however Shraddha backed off, saying she had resolved the problem with Aaftab’s mother and father,” stated Bavche. “She gave a written assertion on December 19, 2020, that she didn’t wish to pursue the case additional.” HT has seen a replica of the December 19 assertion.
Poonam Bidlan, a BJP member and social employee who took Shraddha to Tulinj police station, stated Walkar appeared scared when she approached the organisation on November 23, 2020. “Nonetheless, after a couple of days, she referred to as and instructed me that she didn’t wish to pursue the case as Aaftab’s mother and father had intervened and agreed to get them married,” stated Bidlan. “She instructed me that she wished to get married to Poonawala and that his mother and father had agreed for it,” Bidlan added.
The 2020 criticism is vital for investigators as a result of it marks the clearest hyperlink to date between the alleged crime and cover-up on Might 18, and the lifetime of the couple earlier than this incident.
The ugly crime was unearthed final week after Poonawala ostensibly instructed the police that he murdered Walkar of their Chhattarpur flat six months in the past, chopped her physique into at the very least 35 items for over two days, saved them in a fridge for about three months, and dumped the physique elements piece by piece in several elements of south Delhi and Gurugram. Police later stated the couple fought over funds on Might 18 — three days after they moved into the flat in Chhattarpur.
However apart from his confession and circumstantial clues, police haven’t made any main piece of proof public. Investigators recovered bone fragments from forests in Chhattarpur and Gurugram, discovered some bloodstains within the flat, and recovered a noticed, however forensic exams are but to conclusively show that these are linked to the case. Police say Poonawala confessed to the crime however their rivalry will not be admissible in courtroom until backed by laborious proof.
HT beforehand reported that the brother of one in all Walkar’s colleagues, Gladwin Rodrigues, stated she backed out from registering the FIR after being satisfied by Poonawala’s mother and father to present him a second probability, and settled for a verbal criticism as an alternative.
The 2020 criticism, which turned public on Wednesday, stirred a political storm.
Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis stated the federal government will probe why no motion was taken regardless of critical allegations talked about within the police criticism. He instructed reporters, “I’ve additionally seen the criticism. It is a critical matter. Such incidents occur when no motion is taken on such complaints. It will likely be probed why no motion was taken on the criticism. Possibly she would have been alive right this moment if some one had acted on the criticism,” he stated.
The criticism was closed on December ,19, 2020 .
In the meantime, police stated they might not take Poonawala to the Rohini Forensic Science Laboratory to conclude the polygraph take a look at as a result of he was unwell. ”Police instructed us that he complained of fever so he was not delivered to the lab. The process of polygraph take a look at began on Tuesday. We have been hoping to finish it on Wednesday after which the suspect’s narco evaluation take a look at shall be completed at a metropolis hospital,” an official of the Delhi FSL stated, including that earlier than Poonawala’s narco take a look at, medical doctors would conduct his medical examination.
Police say that the narco take a look at shall be vital provided that Poonawala had allegedly been giving conflicting accounts of how he executed the crime.
“Initially he stated he had dumped the physique elements close to his home. Later he took us to Gurugram. He has additionally taken us to a number of retailers claiming these have been the locations the place he purchased the weapon. It is very important get his narco-analysis to try to discover out if he’s telling the reality,” stated a police officer conscious of the probe, requesting anonymity.
To make certain, the findings of the take a look at are usually not prosecutable proof in courtroom.
Poonawala and Walkar, initially from Vasai close to Mumbai, have been in a relationship and moved to Delhi in Might 2022. Walkar was estranged from her household who opposed her relationship with Poonawala however the alleged homicide got here to gentle when a buddy knowledgeable Walkar’s father, Vikas Madan Walkar, that he had not heard from her for at the very least two months. Her father then knowledgeable Mumbai Police in October.
A month-long probe by Mumbai and Delhi Police led investigators to the flat in south Delhi the place Poonawala allegedly murdered Walkar.