BackMehrauli murder case update: Delhi Police record statements of 4 in Maharashtra
The two male witnesses whose statements have been recorded are identified as Rahul Ray and Godwin, the police official said. Both the witnesses are residents of the Vasai region, one of them is a rickshaw driver, while the other is currently unemployed.
PremiumMehrauli murder case: A Delhi Police team on Saturday recorded statements of four persons in Maharashtra's Palghar including two men, the cops said, adding that the 27-year-old Shraddha Walkar, who was allegedly murdered by her live-in partner Aaftab Poonawala, had sought assistance from these two men after she was assaulted by the accused in 2020.
These two male witnesses whose statements have been recorded are identified as Rahul Ray and Godwin, the police official said. Both the witnesses are residents of the Vasai region, one of them is a rickshaw driver, while the other is currently unemployed.
According to the news agency PTI, the other two persons whose statements were recorded by Delhi Police are a former manager of a call center in Mumbai, where Shraddha was working, and her female friend.
Local police informed that the family members of the accused have fled to an unknown location from a building in Mira Raod near Mumbai where they had shifted last month, and are untraceable.
At present, the four-member Delhi Police team is in Manikpur in Palghar district's Vasai, the native place of the victim and where the couple had stayed before shifting to the national capital, as per PTI reports.
After landing in Mumbai, police on Saturday spoke with some office-bearers of the housing society and visited the Poonawalas' flats, which were found locked, a Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar (MBVV) police official said.
Aaftab Poonawala is accused of smothering his live-in partner, Shraddha Walkar, and later cutting her into 35 pieces, which he kept in a 300-litre fridge for almost three weeks, before dumping them away in nearby areas over the course of 18 days in May 2022.
Amid the national outrage, the murder found an echo in the run-up to the next month's Gujarat Assembly elections with Assam Chief Minister and BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma terming it a case of "love jihad" and pitching for another term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2024 elections.
(With PTI inputs)
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!
