'Aftab will kill and cut me into pieces': Shraddha Walkar's SOS to police

In her complaint to Tulinj police in Palghar in November 2020, Walkar alleged that, 'Poonawala has been abusing me and beating me up'

A letter purportedly written by Shraddha Walkar two years ago to the police complaining about the brutalities at the hands of her live-in partner Aftab Poonawalla surfaced on Wednesday as the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government ordered a probe on the alleged inaction by cops.

The issue seems to be taking a political dimension as the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government was in power in the state at that time.

The letter was written by Shraddha on November 23, 2020 to the Tulinj police station when the couple was staying in the Evershine City at Vasai in Palghar district.

“....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,” the hand-written letter states.

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“I lived with him till date as we were supposed to get married anytime soon and had the blessing of his family. Henceforth, I am 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,” the letter states.

Later, Shraddha withdrew the letter on the grounds of an amicable resolution with Aftab.

Asked about the letter, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis said that the government has taken cognisance of the letter. “I have seen (the letter and the content). It's very serious. The matter needs to be investigated,” said Fadnavis, who is also the Home Minister.

“Without blaming anybody, we need to know the truth. If the police had acted in a timely manner, this (murder) could have been avoided,” Fadnavis said. The state BJP wanted to know why the government was silent on the issue.

"According to the letter, on November 23, 2020, Shraddha Walkar had informed the Maharashtra Police that her life was in danger and Aftab would attempt to kill her. The received copy of this letter is also visible in the media. Why was the then government of Maharashtra and the police sitting silent on this issue? If one of our Marathi sisters had informed the police about the attack on her, why did the police in Maharashtra not act on this letter," Mumbai BJP President Ashish Shelar asked.

"Was it because Shraddha's last name was Walkar or because he was Aftab? Or was it because the then Chief Minister (Thackeray) sitting in the government had support from the NCP and Congress? Or did they want to cover it all up? Now is the need of the hour to investigate all of this," said Shelar, adding that had the then police and the government initiated strict action, Shraddha would have survived today.

"I sincerely urge the police to investigate whether this letter or the investigation was deliberately suppressed. Was there any pressure from anyone forcing not to take action against Aftab? It is necessary to investigate all of this," said Shelar.