Aaftab had assaulted Shraddha Walkar in 2020; images of bruised face, medical prescription surface

Shraddha Walkar, who was brutally killed and later chopped into 35 pieces by her boyfriend and live-in partner Aaftab Ameen Poonawala, was beaten up in 2020, her friend Godwin claimed on Friday. A bunch of fresh photos of Shraddha has surfaced in which she can be seen with bruises and marks on her cheek and nose. 
As per news reports, Shraddha was taken to a Vasai-based hospital in 2020 when she was suffering from severe back pain. On December 3, 2020, Shraddha was hospitalised at Ozone Multispeciality Hospital in Vasai, with severe pain in her back and spine for around a week. A report in India Today stated that it is suspected that she was assaulted by Aaftab, which led to severe back pain because of which she had to be hospitalised. 

Her friend added that Shraddha went to the police station with a blood clot on her face and strangulation marks on her neck. He added that Aaftab used to beat her often, and the 2020 assault case was not the first but the 14th or the 15th such incident.  

Godwin said Shraddha was trying to leave him, but was waiting to garner some support. She tried to reach out to her friends in 2020 after the assault, he added. 

Earlier, Shraddha’s close friend Rajat Shukla claimed that Shraddha had told her friends and parents that Aaftab often used to hit her when they discussed marriage. 

He said that Aaftab had beaten her multiple times whenever they discussed marriage and she objected to the fact that despite living with her, he still used to frequent and be active on social media dating apps. 

Shraddha’s another friend Laxman Nadar too has claimed that both of them had many fights and arguments. "One day she got in touch with me on WhatsApp and asked me to rescue her from her residence. She said that if she stayed with him [Aaftab] that night, he would kill her," Nadar said.   

Nadar said that when Shraddha had shared details about her abusive relationship with her family, her father had insisted her to stay back. But then she reconciled with Aaftab and shifted to Delhi.  

Aaftab has been accused of strangulating Shraddha and dismembering her body into some 35 pieces in 10 hours on May 18 this year. He allegedly stuffed them into a newly bought refrigerator and then disposed them at various locations around Mehrauli. The Delhi Police on Thursday said they have found blood stains in Aaftab’s kitchen, which could be when he chopped Shraddha’s body into pieces. 

On Thursday,  a Delhi court extended Aaftab’s police custody for the next five days and allowed to conduct a Narco test on him for more details.