Aaftab looked confident, remorseless during questioning, say Maharashtra police
Shraddha Walkar murder
Mumbai (PTI): Call centre employee Shraddha Walkar's live-in-partner Aaftab Poonawala, accused of brutally murdering her in Delhi, had appeared confident with no trace of remorse on his face when Manikpur police in Maharashtra called him for questioning earlier this month, an official said.
After Walkar's family members filed a missing person's complaint when she was not traceable, the Manikpur police in Vasai town of Palghar called Poonawala for questioning twice - last month and on November 3 - and on both the occasions he told the police that Walkar had left his place and they were not staying together, assistant police inspector Sampatrao Patil told PTI.
Poonawala (28) has been arrested by the Delhi police for allegedly murdering Walkar, who had stayed in Vasai, in May this year, chopping the body into 35 pieces before dumping them at different places in the national capital over several days.
"Poonawala was called for questioning for the first time in October but was then asked to go. Later on November 3, he was again called and his two-page statement was recorded. Both the times he looked very confident and there was no remorse on his face," Patil said.
The official said last month they visited Mehrauli police station in Delhi and questioned Poonawala. But that time also he kept saying the same thing, that he and Walkar were not staying together, and failed to revealed anything more, he said.
"We questioned him at the police station in Delhi also for hours, but never get suspicious about him," the official said.
Walkar's close friend Rajat Shukla said it was possible that Poonawala might have been forcing her to convert (her religion).
"He (Poonawala) is not an ordinary man...Love Jihad, terrorism, or may be some mission in the entire case...an investigation should be done into the case and the truth should come out. He was misleading people but the reality has to come out now," Shukla said.
"Poonawala did not seem to be a lover as such a person cannot commit a heinous crime like chopping the body of a person he loved into pieces, keeping them in a fridge and disposing them in a forest," he said.
Shukla also said they came to know in 2019 about Poonawala being in a live-in relationship with Walkar.
"But, it seems both of them were in a relationship since 2018 and kept it a secret. A few of our friends had also met Poonawala," he added.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
