Shraddha Walkar Murder Case: Victim's Father Denies Beating His Wife, Says Unaware of Daughter's LSD Use

Vikas Madan Walkar, the father of Shraddha Walkar, appeared before a Delhi court on Friday and firmly denied allegations that he had assaulted his late wife in front of their two children or had engaged in conversations with his daughter about such incidents. He also said that he had no knowledge of his daughter's consumption of LSD (Lysergic Acid Diethylamide), a synthetic chemical-based hallucinogenic drug.

This testimony occurred during the cross-examination by the defense counsel of Aaftab Amin Poonawala, who is accused of strangling his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar on May 18 of the previous year and dismembering her body.

As Vikas Walkar was questioned by the defense counsel, Akshay Bhandari, on the basis of a video recording showing his daughter and Poonawala conversing with a psychologist, he denied all allegations. The defense counsel's questions ranged from whether he had beaten his wife in front of their children when they were young to whether he was aware of his daughter's LSD consumption. He also asked if Shraddha had mentioned to a counselor that her father used to assault her mother, leading to her distress.

Vikas Walkar firmly responded in the negative to each of these queries. Regarding a question about whether Shraddha had discussed the reasons behind his alleged abuse with him, he stated that they had never had such a conversation. Special Public Prosecutor Madhukar Pandey objected to this question, considering it suggestive and containing an implicit meaning.

The court disallowed a question posed by Bhandari regarding Shraddha's purported failure in Class 7 due to a "bad atmosphere at home," as Vikas Walkar could not be questioned about a recording he was not a part of. Bhandari rephrased the question to inquire whether Vikas Walkar knew that Shraddha had failed in Class 7 due to a negative environment at home caused by his alleged violence. Vikas Walkar clarified that his daughter had not failed but had scored lower marks in one subject.

The defense counsel also queried whether Vikas Walkar was aware of his daughter's alleged "hallucination problem," to which he again responded negatively. The remaining cross-examination is scheduled for Monday.

Meanwhile, the cross-examination of Shraddha's brother, Shreejay Vikas Walkar, was completed on Friday. During the preceding day, the defense counsel had played an audio recording involving the accused, the victim, and a psychologist, sourced from the Practo App, to challenge certain aspects of the prosecution's case. The defense sought to establish that the victim was the one who frequently became "irritated" with Poonawala.

The court validated the relevance of certain audio recordings, acknowledging their pertinence as evidence despite objections raised by Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad. After allegedly strangling Shraddha Walkar, Poonawala dismembered her body and stored the pieces in a refrigerator for nearly three weeks at his rented residence in Mehrauli, South Delhi. Subsequently, he disposed of the body parts in different locations across the capital city to avoid detection.