“He Threatens To Cut Me Into Pieces”: Shraddha Walkar’s 2020 Letter To Cops

According to authorities, Shraddha Walkar, who was allegedly murdered by her partner Aaftab Poonawala before having her body dismembered and thrown in a Delhi jungle, had expressed similar concerns to the police in their hometown of Vasai, Maharashtra, two years prior.
After he assaulted her in the apartment they shared, she complained to the police and claimed that his family was aware of his aggressive tendencies, according to sources in the Delhi police. The police are currently investigating this allegation and any subsequent Vasai police actions. Both Karan, a coworker she had told about the attack, and Aaftab’s parents are in Delhi to take statements.

The letter dated November 23, 2020, connects to what she informed Karan via WhatsApp at roughly the same time. She also shared a picture of her battered face with him at that time. A week later, she had also been checked into a hospital for “internal injuries.”

“Today he tried to kill me by suffocating me and he scares me and blackmails me that he will kill me, cut me up in pieces and throw me away. It’s been six months he has been hitting me but I did not have the guts to go to the police because he would threaten to kill me,” says the letter.

The 2020 complaint claims he had been abusing her and “blackmailing” her “for six months” with threats of murder, but the couple, who had met on a dating app and started dating around 2019, apparently did not split up. They both worked for contact centres and had relocated to Delhi in May of this year.

Shraddha’s parents cut off communication with her because they disapproved of the relationship between Hindus and Muslims. The horrific murder, which took place days after they moved into a Mehrauli apartment in Delhi in May, was only discovered in the last month after her father reported it to the police after learning that she hadn’t been in touch with him or her friends for months.

The letter is titled, “He beats me and has attempted to kill me, and his parents are aware of this. They are aware that we live together and frequently stop over on the weekends.” She allegedly resided with him “since we were expected to get married any day and had the blessings of his family,” according to the statement.But it concludes with: “Henceforth I’m 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.”

Uncertain of how long, if ever, they were away, they took a trip to Himachal Pradesh early this year before relocating to Delhi.

Police currently have an alleged confession, which is inadmissible on its own, as proof of murder. In particular, a forensic examination to determine that some body pieces discovered in the Mehrauli bush are truly hers is one among the tangible clues that police are looking for.

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