Shraddha Walkar suspected her live-in partner of cheating, claims social activist
Mumbai (PTI): A social activist, with whom call centre employee Shraddha Walkar had participated in a Mumbai beach clean-up drive, has claimed the deceased suspected her live-in partner Aaftab Poonawala of cheating on her and appeared quiet and aloof during the cleanliness campaigns.
Walkar also had financial problems and she and Poonawala used to have frequent fights, said activist Shreha Dhargalkar who runs an NGO.
The activist also claimed Walkar (27) wanted to have a small family and a child. "That was her dream," she added.
Poonawala (28) allegedly strangled Walkar in May this year 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 national capital over several days past midnight.
The Delhi Police, who have arrested Poonawala, on Tuesday took him to the forest area in south Delhi's Chhatarpur and spent nearly three hours to locate specific places where he had allegedly dumped her body parts.
Activist Dhargalkar had organised clean-up drives at Mumbai's Juhu, Versova, Madh and Aksa beaches along with Marathi actor Madhuri Sangita Patil last year.
Dhargalkar said Walkar, who had participated in the cleanliness drive, did not want to leave her call centre job at Malad in Mumbai.
However, her boyfriend Poonawala forced her or prevailed upon her to do so saying they should go far away from Mumbai and Vasai, where Walkar's family resided, as he feared her parents could approach police against him, the activist said.
"Walkar was worried about several things. When I asked her why she was aloof and not mixing up with the rest of the group, she said she was tense and worried," Dhargalkar claimed.
"She told me that she was having financial problems. She did not mention her live-in relationship, but said her boyfriend wanted her to leave Mumbai and Maharashtra," she said.
"Due to their fights and misunderstandings as well as Walkar's suspicion that Poonawala was cheating on her, she could not concentrate properly on her work. Their relationship was in a constant state of turmoil and there were times when the couple had no money," the activist claimed.
Dhargalkar also said Walkar had asked her if there was an opportunity for a part-time or work-from-home job with her NGO, so that she could earn some extra money.
She said Walkar loved Mumbai and wanted to do something for the city, particularly to make it clean.
"She was hardworking, but did not mix up with others or talk to them much. She only spoke when she was spoken to or asked any questions. She was reserved and mostly kept to herself. She did not share anything about her family or personal life," Dhargalkar said.
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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.
