Police wouldn’t file FIR against stalker, alleges Thane murder victim’s family

The Zades filed the NC complaint after Pawar allegedly attacked Zade on June 11, in her office premises

Akash Pawar, the man who stabbed 20-year-old Prachi Zade to death on Saturday, had been stalking Zade for at least six months and had previously assaulted her. Zade’s family has alleged that the police would not register a first information report (FIR) when they wanted to complain against Pawar in June this year and instead registered only a non-cognizable (NC) complaint.

Twenty-year-old Prachi Zade was stabbed in broad daylight on the busy Eastern Express Highway on Saturday (Praful Gangurde/ HT)

““I requested them to lodge an FIR, but they did not. I requested them, saying Pawar seems to be dangerous and if anything happens to my daughter, then who will take responsibility? The police just shook their head and no case was lodged,” said Zade’s father, Vikas. The Zades filed the NC complaint after Pawar allegedly attacked Zade on June 11, in her office premises. Madhulika Tripathy,21, who worked with Zade told HT, “Prachi used to warn me not to look back whenever she used to see Pawar following her. On June 11, Prachi was hit so badly by Pawar that she fell on the ground.”

The Thane cops assured the Zades they would take “strict action” and following standard procedure related to NC complaints, brought Pawar in to the station. Deputy commissioner of police D Swami said, “After the NC was lodged, he was warned by to stay away from Zade and told that if another complaint was filed against him, he’d be arrested.” Tripathy said Pawar continued stalking Zade despite the NC complaint and the warning. Before he stabbed her, Pawar had followed Zade for about a kilometre. Witnesses to the murder heard him saying to Zade, “If you can’t be mine, I will not let you be anyone else’s (Agar tum meri nahi ho sakti, toh main tumhe kisika hone nahi dunga).”

As per procedure, no arrests can be made against an NC complaint and neither can an investigation be conducted on the complaint. If a breach of peace is suspected, then the police may conduct a limited enquiry to start “chapter proceedings” under Section 107 (breach of public tranquillity) of the Indian Penal Code.