Shraddha Walkar's father Vikas speaks out: Aftab should be hanged for murdering my daughter

Shraddha Walkar's father addressed the media for the first time since news of her murder broke last month. Vikas Walkar said that had cops helped him earlier, his daughter would be alive today. Walkar also said that Aftab Poonawalla's family and friends should be investigated. He also said that Aftab should be handed the harshest punishment possible, that he should be hanged to death.

What Vikas Walkar said:

• Aftab Poonawalla's family and everyone involved in the murder should be investigated.
• The death of my daughter took a toll on me. This is the reason I was unable to speak to anyone for all this while.
• Had the Vasai police helped me earlier, my daughter would have been alive today.
• A lot of evidence has been destroyed by now.
• I want justice for my daughter.
• Aftab killed my daughter brutally. He should be handed out the harshest of punishments. His parents and family members should also be investigated, and they should also be punished if they had any role in Shraddha's murder.

• My daughter was above 18. She was free to do whatever she wanted to.
• There should be more awareness around religion and communally sensitive issues. Before my daughter left home, she told me that she was an adult. I could not do anything. There should be counselling for young adults. There should be more awareness on using online apps.
• What happened to my daughter was extremely tragic. Nothing like this should ever happen to another person.
• Nalasopara Police and Vasai Police were lax in their investigation in the beginning, and perhaps my daughter would have been alive had they helped me earlier.
• The investigation in the murder is now going in the right direction. This is a joint investigation by the Maharashtra police and Delhi Police.

The murder that shook India: On November 14, Aftab Ameen Poonawalla was arrested for the brutal murder of Shraddha Walkar. Aftab killed Shraddha, his live-in partner, on May 18, and went ahead to chop her body into 35 pieces.

• After killing Shraddha, Aftab proceeded to order food on Zomato, and had beer. He then watched a movie on Netflix.
• Then, over the course of the next weeks, Aftab disposed off the pieces in the forest in Chhatarpur and Gurugram.
• Aftab has been in police custody since November 14.
• He kept an account of the chopped body pieces and where all he disposed them off, police sources had earlier revealed.
• Last month, Delhi Police recovered 5 knives that Aftab used to chop Shraddha's body.
• Delhi Police has meanwhile conducted a narco test and polygraph tests on Aftab.

A doomed love story: Aftab and Shraddha met each other on the dating app Bumble sometime in 2019. They then worked together in the same company, and went ahead to live together in Vasai. In March-April 2022, Shraddha and Aftab travelled together to the hills in North India. They then decided to move to Delhi for better work options.

In May this year, Shraddha and Aftab moved into an apartment in Chhatarpur. Aftab then killed her on May 18.