Aftab should be hanged: Ajit Pawar on Shraddha Walker murder case

Mumbai, Nov 25: Maharashtra leader of opposition Ajit Pawar on Friday, while talking about the Shraddha Walker murder case, said that the accused should be hanged as it would give a message to the society that for such heinous crimes, death was the only punishment.

"A message should be sent to society that for such a heinous crime there is no punishment other than a death sentence. He should be hanged," the NCP leader was quoted as saying by ANI.

On Shraddha's complaint to Mumbai Police in 2020 on Aftab Poonawala, Pawar said the police personnel who faltered in their duty should be punished.

He said, "Instead of blaming each other, if any police officer or personnel faltered in his duty, they shall be punished after investigation. The case should be tried in a fast-track court."

Fadnavis on Shraddha's letter in 2020

Earlier on Wednesday, Maharashtra's deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had said that an investigation will be initiated into why "no action" was taken by the police on the complaint letter of Shhradha Walker in 2020.

Fadnavis said, "I saw the letter (Shraddha's complaint to Police in 2020) and it has very serious allegations. We will have to investigate why was no action taken. I don't want to accuse anyone of anything but if action is not taken on such a letter, such incidents happen."

He further added, "It will be investigated. Maybe she could have been saved had action been taken."

It is to be noted that the victim Shhradha Walker in the year 2020, had made a complaint at the Tulinj Police Station in Maharashtra's Palghar. She wrote her in the complaint that Aftab Poonawala had beaten her and threatened to kill her.

From when they met to when it ended:

The victim Shraddha was allegedly strangled to death by her boyfriend Aftab. The accused allegedly chopped off her body into many pieces which he kept in a 300-litre refrigerator for almost three weeks at his residence in South Delhi's Mehrauli before dumping them across the city over several days.

The police said that the couple would fight regularly over issues such as marriage and who would bear the household expenses. On May 18, he allegedly strangled her to death and then set out to buy a knife and fridge. Following a missing person's complaint filed by Shraddha's father as her daughter was untraceable for over two months, the police arrested Aftab, six months after the crime took place.