Cops record statements of 3 who helped injured Shraddha Walkar

The Delhi Police officers will continue to be in Vasai for a few more days, and are expected to record statements of some more people, including those who allegedly witnessed Poonawala assaulting Walkar

A Delhi Police team on Saturday recorded the statement of three men who have come forward to state that they helped Shraddha Walkar in 2020, after she was physically abused by her partner Aaftab Amin Poonawala while they were living in Vasai, Maharashtra.

A photo of Shraddha Walkar allegedly after she was assaulted by Aaftab Poonawalla in 2020. (PTI)

Poonawala, 28, is accused of killing Walkar, 27, at their flat in south Delhi’s Chhattarpur Pahadi on May 18, dismembering her body, and dumping the body parts in forested areas in the Capital. The couple had moved to Delhi just days before murder.

A Delhi Police team is in Maharashtra to record the statements of Walkar’s friends and family. Meanwhile, Poonawala’s father Amin has been summoned to Delhi to record his statement, and to ascertain whether the accused had revealed his crime to his family, officials aware of the development said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

On Saturday, Walkar’s former colleague Karan Brar told police that on November 23, 2020, he received a call from Walkar, saying that Poonawala had hit her and had tried to choke her. Since Brar lived in Mira Road and did not know anyone in Vasai, he called up another colleague, who in turn told his brother to go and help Walkar.

“I went to help Shraddha as I stayed close by. I took her to the Tulinj police station where she had given a statement, before the police sent her for medical examination. After this I had dropped her home,” Godwin Rodrigues, who was questioned by police for three hours, said.

Rodrigues said he had taken the help of Rahul Rai, a local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker, to approach the police.

Rai said, “After police had recorded her statement, we had asked Shraddha to go for a medical examination, as she had fresh wound marks, and get an FIR registered. However, Shraddha had refused to do so, saying that her wounds would heal in a few days.”

The Delhi Police officers will continue to be in Vasai for a few more days, and are expected to record statements of some more people, including those who allegedly witnessed Poonawala assaulting Walkar. The team will also collect Walkar’s belongings, and will visit the flat where she and Poonawala were living together.