New Delhi: In more details that have emerged in the Shraddha Walkar murder case in Delhi, a friend of the victim Friday said accused Aftab Poonawalla would hit Shraddha frequently.
Rahul Rai told ThePrint that he came in contact with Shraddha in 2020 through a mutual friend who worked with her at a call centre in Mumbai.
Shraddha, who was 27 at the time of her death, was allegedly killed by her live-in partner Poonawalla on 18 May.
“In 2020, our mutual friend received a call from Shraddha during which she said that she needed urgent help. My friend asked me to go to her house. I took Shraddha to the police station in Mumbai and filed an NC ( non cognizable offence complaint),” Rai said, adding that the incident was from October-November that year.
“I met Shraddha for the first time that day. She had marks on her neck, face, and back. It looked like she was strangled,” Rai said. Shraddha, he added, was taken by another friend to the hospital for treatment.
He also said, “She told me that day that Poonawalla had tried to strangle her three-four times earlier. But she said that she wanted to give him one last chance.”
“She refused when we told her to take action against him. She didn’t want Poonawalla to be detained or questioned and told all her friends that in relationships fights happen,” he added.
Shraddha’s disappearance came to light after another friend told her father, Vikas Walkar, that he hadn’t heard from Shraddha for months.
Vikas first approached the Mumbai Police and then the Delhi Police after a probe found that her last location was in Delhi. Poonawalla, 28, was subsequently arrested on 12 November.
According to the police, the accused had allegedly strangled her in a fit of rage and then chopped her body into some 35 pieces using a saw, before disposing of the remains at various locations. The Delhi Police is now trying to recover the tools allegedly used by Poonawalla to dismember Shraddha’s body, her mobile phone as well as body parts.
“She wouldn’t be in touch with most people. Here (in Delhi), they told people that they are married. Shraddha didn’t want to share much about the relationship but we know that he would beat her up. That day she broke down and said that he hit her,” Rai said.
Also read: Jealousy, love & murder: Before Shraddha, there was killing of Neeraj Grover & gory tandoor case