Shraddha first sought help in Nov 2020, did not expect Aaftab to go to this extent: Ex-colleague
New Delhi (PTI): It was in November 2020 that Shraddha Walkar first confided about the physical assault from Aaftab Amin Poonawala, recalls a former colleague, adding that she was about to approach the police but stopped short of pressing charges after Aaftab's parents intervened.
Karan, who worked with Walker in Mumbai till March 2021, remembers her as a "lively and energetic person". His chats with Walkar about the assault are doing the rounds on social media.
Talking to PTI in a Zoom interview, he says she was usually very energetic and full of enthusiasm in office, "but on some days when she had fights with Aaftab, she isolated herself so that she does not have to lie. I cannot imagine Aftab going to this extent..."
Poonawala allegedly strangled Walkar, 27, on May 18 and sawed her body into 35 pieces which he kept in a 300-litre fridge for almost three weeks at his residence in South Delhi's Mehrauli before dumping them across the city over several days past midnight.
Demanding justice for Walkar, Karan, who insisted to go by his first name, says he is ready to co-operate with the police in whatever way he can.
The WhatsApp chats between Karan and Walkar have revealed a pattern of abuse when the victim lived with Poonawala in their hometown Vasai near Mumbai. Similarly, pictures of Walkar dating back to 2020 with visible injury marks also surfaced on social media.
"Those chats are from November 2020 and that was the first time when she opened up about the domestic violence and the beatings that she was going through in her relationship with Aaftab," he says.
Recollecting how she had sent him a picture in which a black mark under her right eye and neck bruises were visible, Karan says he does not have that picture now. All that is left with him are the chats and a medical report that Walker had shared with him in December when she had to seek treatment for her injured spine and neck due to the beating by Poonawala.
Hearing about the abuse, did he counsel her to move out of the volatile relationship?
Karan says, "When she started working with me, she never told me about it (domestic violence)... It was only in November (2020) when she was badly hurt and could not trust anyone that she talked about it..."
Walkar had sent a distress message and asked for help, he says, adding that he had then called his friend Godvin, a resident of Vasai, who took her to the police station and the hospital.
"This was the first time she sought help. I also spoke to her about what had happened in the past and made sure she did not fall prey to the vicious cycle of suffering. But she was very happy after that because she was guaranteed by Aaftab's parents that he would move out of the house," Karan adds.
He says he did not know that Walkar and Poonawala had reconciled and had even started staying together. It was in March 2021 that Walkar left the firm where she was working with Karan.
"It was her last day at work and that was the day we spent the maximum time together. We had kept a farewell for her. She dropped me home and then went to her residence. That was my last meeting with her," says Karan.
He says he lost touch with her after that, but all those memories of her sharing her ordeal with him came flooding back when he heard about what happened to Walker.
"I never expected to hear such a news... I could not speak to anyone at home. It took me time to come out of that shock... It was quite heartbreaking," he says.
The Delhi Police had on Friday sent teams to Maharasthra, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh to hunt for evidence in the case with sleuths recovering some body parts in Gurugram even as a court here ordered that narco test be conducted on the accused within five days.
According to police officials, after leaving Mumbai, Walkar and Poonawala had travelled to several locations and police are visiting these places to ascertain whether something had happened on those trips to trigger the murder.
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Kerala polls: ‘People rejected 10 years of misrule’, says AICC gen secy
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal on Monday said the Congress-led UDF’s sweeping victory in the Kerala Assembly polls was a clear verdict against the “arrogance”, corruption, and nepotism of the CPI(M)-led LDF government headed by CM Pinarayi Vijayan.
Addressing a press conference as counting of votes for all 140 Assembly constituencies neared completion, Venugopal said the outcome reflected public anger against what he termed “10 years of misrule” by the Left government.
He claimed that Vijayan’s victory in his home constituency, Dharmadam, was “only technical”, alleging that the CM trailed the UDF candidate in the initial rounds of counting and failed to secure a majority in his own village.
“He just escaped. He suffered a setback even in his home turf. He was the only person who did not realise the people’s mood in this election,” Venugopal said.
Alleging that the CPI(M) and the LDF had resorted to “communal and opportunistic politics”, he further claimed that the ruling front had entered into a “secret understanding” with the BJP in a bid to retain power for a third consecutive term.
He said that when a government driven by power and arrogance attempts to align with anyone to stay in office, even its own cadre turns against it.
Referring to the results, Venugopal said that while the UDF expected rebel CPI(M) leaders, including K Kunhikrishnan in Payyannur, to impact the vote share, their victories came as a surprise.
Describing the UDF’s performance as a “historic victory”, he attributed it to coordinated teamwork, grassroots mobilisation, and the dedication of party workers, adding that the alliance accepted the mandate “with humility”.
Venugopal also credited Rahul Gandhi’s campaign guarantees, calling them a “trump card” that helped voters focus on real issues and reject what he described as the LDF’s “false narratives”.
He claimed that the Congress witnessed one of its lowest levels of rebellion in this election, which contributed to the alliance’s strong performance.
The senior Congress leader further alleged that the BJP managed to win two seats with the help of the CPI(M), and asserted that forces attempting to divide society on communal lines should “learn a lesson” from Kerala’s verdict.
“This is the real Kerala story,” he said.
On the question of the next Chief Minister, Venugopal said the party leadership would decide at the earliest after due consultations.
The counting of votes began on Monday morning for all 140 Assembly constituencies in Kerala, where the Congress-led UDF secured a decisive majority, defeating the CPI(M)-led LDF, which was seeking an unprecedented third consecutive term in office.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) posts, "Thank you to my brothers and sisters in Keralam for a truly decisive mandate. Congratulations to every UDF leader and worker for a hard-fought, well-run campaign. As I said before, Keralam has the talent, Keralam has the potential… pic.twitter.com/6T4IZbEmp4
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 4, 2026
