Her colleagues say after a bad case of assault, Walkar had approached Tulinj police; but Poonawala and his father pressured and blackmailed her to withdraw it soon after
Karan B, Walkar’s team leader
Shraddha Walkar had filed a complaint against Aftab Poonawala for assaulting her with Tulinj police in Nalasopara East in November 2020. However, she withdrew the complaint after 14 days following pressure and emotional blackmail by Poonawala and his family, alleged her friends. Tulinj police have confirmed the case and subsequent withdrawal. “Had the FIR been filed in November 2020, we would not have lost a bright girl like Shraddha. She was jovial by nature and a sound professional,” said Karan B, Walkar’s team leader in the BPO on Ghodbunder Road in Thane.
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Walkar and Poonawala at that time lived in a rented flat in Vasai East. “Shraddha was a performer, but there was a sudden decline in the quality of her work. She also started to skip. When I asked, I learnt that she was having troubles with her live-in partner. On November 23, 2020, she told me she needed the day off as her boyfriend assaulted her badly. I had asked other team members who live in Vasai to help her,” Karan told mi-day.
Karan added, “After Shraddha told me that she was assaulted and had to run out of her flat, I shared my sister’s number with her. I also got her in touch with a senior female colleague at the BPO so she could get help.” “She went and filed a written complaint with Tulinj police and then visited Aftab’s parents to tell them that their son beat her up. After hearing this, Aftab’s father Amin Poonawala asked her to withdraw the complaint. He assured her that Aftab will leave the flat and her alone. Aftab, too, blackmailed her saying that the case would spoil his life and managed to convince her to drop it,” he said.
He added that the assault continued even after that. “Shraddha had told me that Aftab has no control over his rage and would hit her over trivial issues. He even slapped her in the presence of a colleague who was at their place to help her out.” The female colleague had advised her to leave the relationship, and Walkar had also shared that she had broken up with Poonawala, but they continued to live together, her colleague said.
“A few days later, she fell sick and had to be admitted to a hospital due to back ache and spondylitis issues. She had said that it was because of the assault. She had to stay at the hospital for three days. Even before this, Aftab had hit her on multiple occasions, but still managed to convince her to stay with him,” said Karan, whose statement was recorded by Delhi Police in the presence of Manikpur cops in Vasai on Saturday evening.
Senior Inspector Rajendra Kamble of Tulinj police station said, “It is true that she had submitted one written complaint. We had started our investigation and had also summoned them, but later she withdrew the complaint. We filed a closure report following legal procedures.” When asked if the visiting team of Delhi Police contacted them for any details, Kamble said, “They have not contacted us till now, but if they do, we will help them in the investigation.”
23
Day in November 2020 when the incident took place
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