Mehrauli murder case: Was broken, disturbed when I learnt about it, says Shraddha's friend

Shraddha Walkar. File Pic

The grisly murder of Shraddha Walkar who was killed by her live-in partner Aftab Poonawala in Delhi has deeply shaken her friends. Speaking to mid-day.com, Rajat Shukla, one of her close college friends said that after learning the facts of the case and the way Aftab disposed off her body shows that he is not a normal person and I request that a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) must investigate this matter.

He said, Shraddha was a very bright person and she did not deserve this. The case should be tried on a fast track basis and there must be a quick justice in the matter.

28-year-old, Aftab had strangled Shraddha, a Vasai resident in May and chopped her body into 35 pieces. He then kept her body in a 300-litre fridge at his rented house in Chhatarpur. Aftab dumped her body parts in a nearby forest over 18 days, the Delhi Police reportedly said.

Recalling his college days, Rajat said, "Shraddha and I met in Virar based college in 2015, we studied BMM together. Both of us wanted to do journalism. We also acted together in several theatre productions."

He said, "I last spoke to her in 2019 and the last conversation was about an examination that we were supposed to give together. However, there had been behavioural changes in her towards the end of the year 2018, maybe this was the time when Aftab had entered into her life."

Also Read: Aftab looked confident, remorseless during questioning, say Maharashtra police

Rajat also recalled a distress message to Shraddha's best friend, she had sent it months before she was killed, he said.

He added, "The Shraddha I knew was very blunt, very expressive and very practical. I just cannot believe that she was a girl who would live in a toxic relationship. I think she was blackmailed, which also needs to be investigated by the police."

The police reportedly said Aftab evaded detection of the case for nearly six months. He continued to live in the same house which was shared with Shraddha. He was only arrested on Saturday after details of the murder came to light during his interrogation.