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'Police should investigate his parents…': Shraddha Walkar's father on Aaftab
Shraddha Walkar's father on Friday demanded the maximum punishment for Aaftab Amin Poonawala and demanded that his parents should be probed too. Had police acted earlier, Shraddha would not have died, Vikas Walkar said.
Shraddha Walkar's father Vikas Walkar on Friday met Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis at his residence in Mumbai in connection with the Shraddha murder case. Addressing the media, he said Fadnavis assured him that he will get justice. BJP's Kirit Somaiya was also present as Shraddha Walkar's father went to meet Fadnavis. Aaftab Poonawala, Shraddha's live-in partner, who strangled Shraddha and then butchered her body into 35 parts will remain in judicial custody for another 14 days as a Saket court on Friday extended his custody. Aaftab was produced before the court through video conferencing.
"I have already met the Delhi governor and South Delhi DCP. They assured me that we will get justice. Now I met Devendra Fadnavis. He also assured me the same," Vikas Walkar said.
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Talking about Aaftab who killed Shraddha, Vikas Walkar said, “Aaftab Poonawala should be given the maximum punishment. The police should also investigate his parents, he said. “Though the investigation is now progressing, there was some delay in the beginning,” Vikas Walkar said.
'Spoke to Shraddha last in 2021'
Replying to the questions of the journalists, Vikas Walkar said he did try to reach out to Shraddha after she left home but did not get much response. He said his last call with Shraddha was in 2021 when Shraddha told him that she was fine and she was in Bengaluru. "She just asked me about my well-being and how is her brother," Vikas Walkar said.
READ | Aaftab plays chess in jail, sometimes with other inmates: Report
'Spoke to Aaftab in September'
Vikas Walkar said he spoke to Aaftab in September this year after he started looking for Shraddha. "I told him that Shraddha was with you for 2.5 to 3 years and if she leaves you and goes somewhere, isn;t it your responsibility to inform me? He said he did not know where Shraddha had gone," Vikas Walkar said.
'I didn't know about Shraddha's complaint against Aaftab in 2020'
Demanding probe against Aaftab's parents, Vikas Walkar said they were aware of everything while he had no clue that Aaftab used to threaten Shraddha. But what happened that Shraddha could not think of returning home? "I also want to know that," Shraddha's father said.
The grisly murder of Shraddha Walkar came to light after her father filed a missing complaint in Maharashtra months after Shraddha was allegedly murdered in Delhi. Because of his objection to Shraddha's relationship with Aaftab, Vikas Walkar was not in touch with Shraddha and was not aware that she moved to Delhi with Aaftab. Vikas Walkar approached the police after Shraddha's friend alerted him that Shraddha's phone was not reachable for months.
As the case shifted from Maharashtra to Delhi, horrific details of how Aaftab killed her in May and then disposed of her body parts in the following months emerged.
It also came to light in the course of the investigation that Shraddha had complained against Aaftab two years ago. In her complaint, she explicitly mentioned that her life was under threat from Aaftab. Fadnavis promised a thorough investigation into the matter as to why no police action was taken even after the formal complaint in 2020. Police, however, said Shraddha later withdrew her complaint.
