Special team to probe delay, and withdrawal of Shraddha Walkar’s complaint in 2020, says Fadnavis

Fadnavis, who also handles the home ministry, also said the state government would request Union home minister Amit Shah to fast-track the Walkar murder case so that the accused was hanged at the earliest. He made the announcement in the assembly while replying to a calling attention motion moved by BJP MLA Atul Bhatakhalkar over the killing of Walkar by her boyfriend Aftaab Poonawala early this year

Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said a special team of police officers would be set up to investigate if there was a deliberate delay in registering Shraddha Walkar’s complaint at a police station in Vasai in 2020 and if she was pressured to withdraw it later. The inquiry report would be submitted in the budget session of the legislature scheduled to be held in February-March, he added.

Special team to probe delay, and withdrawal of Shraddha Walkar’s complaint in 2020, says Fadnavis

Fadnavis, who also handles the home ministry, also said the state government would request Union home minister Amit Shah to fast-track the Walkar murder case so that the accused was hanged at the earliest.

He made the announcement in the assembly while replying to a calling attention motion moved by BJP MLA Atul Bhatakhalkar over the killing of Walkar by her boyfriend Aftaab Poonawala early this year.

Bhatakhalkar said many organisations had claimed that there was political pressure on the police and as a result, the complaint was withdrawn.

Seconding his opinion, BJP legislator Ashish Shelar said the entire case looked suspicious and a thorough investigation by a high-level committee consisting of police officers needed to be carried out.

“The complaint filed by Shraddha in November 2020 had clearly mentioned that she was brutally beaten up. It is a criminal offence, but the police allowed her to withdraw the complaint after keeping it pending for a month. The date of the letter was found to have been changed. It is also strange that even six months after her murder, nobody came to know about her whereabouts,” Shelar said, adding there are many cases of political interference such as Palghar lynching and Sharjeel Usmani’s hate speech.

Fadnavis, however, said the home department found no substance in the allegations of political pressure or interference by the previous government in the withdrawal of Walkar’s complaint.

“The doubts raised are very serious. The woman was subjected to domestic violence while her complaint was kept pending at the police station for one month. Then it was withdrawn. All these aspects will be probed,” the Dy CM said.

The state is also considering to bring in a law against ‘love jihad’ to safeguard the interest of young women who are cheated in the name of love, Fadnavis said.

“We are not against inter-caste marriages. ‘Love jihad’ has not been coined by any party; it was first used in Kerala. There are cases where women are subjected to exploitation and violence after a year into their marriage and are sent back to their parents’ homes. The Maharashtra government is studying the laws enacted by a few other states and if the need arises, we will introduce such a law to help these women in distress,” the BJP leader said.