Delhi murder: Aaftab used to hit Shraddha, claims friend

Shraddha Walker's close friend Rajat Shukla has said that Shraddha had told her friends and parents that Aaftab often used to hit her when they discussed marriage.  

Shukla, who studied with Shraddha in Vasai-based college, said that she was a bright girl and wanted to be a journalist and was a theatre enthusiast. “Shraddha and I met in college. We both wanted to be journalists so we often studied together. We were theatre enthusiasts. We acted together in several theatre productions,” says Shukla. 

Also read: Shraddha murder case: Aaftab researched ways to clean blood, impersonated her; what we know so far

He added that after meeting Aaftab, she changed. “She became very dull. She told me about her relationship, and I even met him. He appeared normal to me. They said they were planning on moving in together,” he added.  

Shukla said Shraddha told her friends that she was moving to Delhi with Aftab. “She said they had decided to move to Delhi for work. We lost contact with her after she moved.” 

He added that Shraddha had mentioned that Aaftab got abusive and frequently beat her when the two fought over marriage. 

Also read: Delhi murder case: Shraddha Walker's father says he wants accused Aaftab hanged to death

“We tried to bring her back home safely. Unfortunately, all we got back was the news of her brutal murder,” Shukla said. 

The heinous murder of Shraddha came to light on Monday. Shraddha, who was from Palghar near Mumbai, was killed and her body chopped into 35 pieces allegedly by Poonawala in Delhi, the police said. Both met through a dating app following which they started working at a call centre in Mumbai. 
Coming to Delhi earlier this year, they used to travel to various places together and went to hill stations in March-April, the police said. In May, they travelled to Himachal Pradesh where they met a man who lived in Delhi's Chhatarpur. After shifting to Delhi, they had initially stayed at the man's flat, reports said.