WALKAR’S CRY FOR HELP
“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, and the life of the couple before this incident.
The gruesome crime was unearthed last week after Poonawala ostensibly told the police that he murdered Walkar in their Chhattarpur flat six months ago, chopped her body into at least 35 pieces for over two days, stored them in a refrigerator for about three months, and dumped the body parts in south Delhi and Gurugram. Police said the couple fought over finances on May 18 — three days after they moved into the flat in Chhattarpur.
But other than his confession and circumstantial clues, police have not made any major piece of evidence public. Investigators recovered bone fragments from forests in Chhattarpur and Gurugram, found some bloodstains in the flat, and recovered a saw, but forensic tests are yet to conclusively prove that these are linked to the case. Police say Poonawala confessed to the crime but their contention is not admissible in court unless backed by hard proof.
HT previously reported that the brother of one of Walkar’s colleagues, Gladwin Rodrigues, said she backed out from registering the FIR after being convinced by Poonawala’s parents to give him a second chance, and settled for a verbal complaint instead.
The 2020 complaint, which became public on Wednesday, stirred a political storm.
Maharashtra’s deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis said the government will probe why no action was taken despite serious allegations mentioned in the police complaint. “I have also seen the complaint. This is a serious matter. Such incidents happen when no action is taken on such complaints. It will be probed why no action was taken on the complaint. Maybe she would have been alive today if some one had acted on the complaint,” he said.
The complaint was closed on December 19, 2020 .
Meanwhile, police said they could not take Poonawala to the Rohini Forensic Science Laboratory to conclude the polygraph test because he was unwell. ”Police told us that he complained of fever so he was not brought to the lab. The procedure of polygraph test started on Tuesday. We were hoping to complete it on Wednesday after which the suspect’s narco analysis test will be done at a city hospital,” an official of the Delhi FSL said, adding that before Poonawala’s narco test, doctors would conduct his medical examination.
“Initially he said he had dumped the body parts near his house. Later he took us to Gurugram. He has also taken us to multiple shops claiming those were the places where he bought the weapon. It is important to get his narco-analysis to try and find out if he is telling the truth,” said a police officer aware of the probe, requesting anonymity. To be sure, the findings of the test are not prosecutable evidence in court.
Poonawala and Walkar, originally from Vasai near Mumbai, were in a relationship and moved to Delhi in May 2022. Walkar was estranged from her family who opposed her relationship with Poonawala but the alleged murder came to light when a friend informed Walkar’s father that he had not heard from her for at least two months. Her father then informed Mumbai Police in October. A month-long probe led investigators to the flat in south Delhi where Poonawala allegedly murdered Walkar.