Her complaint 2 years ago

The police complaint by Shraddha Walkar was filed at the Tullinj Police Station in Nala Sopara, north of Mumbai, on November 23, 2020

She wrote that Aaftab Amin Poonawala had been hitting her for 6 months that his parents visit them over the weekends, and they were aware that he beat Walkar. According to Walkar’s letter, the two were living together and planned to get married soon, but she didn’t want to stay with him any longer. At the time, Shraddha and Aaftab used to live in Regal Apartments in Vasai (east). “I lived with him [Poonawala] till date as we were supposed to get married anytime soon and had the blessing of his family. Henceforth, I am not willing to live with him so any kind of physical damage should be considered coming from him as he has been blackmailing me to kill me or hurt me whenever he sees me anywhere,” Walkar wrote.

Suhas Bavche, deputy commissioner of police for Palghar, said officers had begun investigating the complaint and visited the house she shared with Poonawala. “We made enquiries and were in the process to register an FIR but Shraddha backed off, saying she had resolved the issue with Aaftab’s parents,” said Bavche. “She gave a written statement on December 19, 2020, that she did not want to pursue the case further.” HT has seen a copy of the said statement.

Poonam Bidlan, a BJP member and social worker who took Shraddha to Tulinj police station, said Walkar appeared scared when she approached the organisation on November 23, 2020. “However, after a few days, she called and told me that she did not want to pursue the case as Aaftab’s parents had intervened and agreed to get them married,” said Bidlan. “She told me that she wanted to get married to Poonawala and that his parents had agreed for it,” Bidlan added.

The 2020 complaint is important for investigators because it marks the clearest link so far between the alleged crime and cover-up on May 18.