Mumbai: Vikas Walkar, father of Shraddha Walkar, passed away on Sunday morning after suffering a heart attack in Mumbai’s Vasai area. Family sources said he had been battling depression ever since his daughter’s murder and was undergoing treatment. He had also been waiting for the remains of his daughter. The murder case of Shraddha Walkar is still ongoing, with the accused, Aftab Amin Poonawalla, lodged in jail.
Shraddha was allegedly strangled to death by Aftab on May 18, 2022. He then chopped off her body, stored the parts in a refrigerator and later disposed of them across different locations in Delhi to evade detection. Some body parts were later found from a forest.
Poonawalla faces threat
In November 2024, Delhi’s Tihar Jail authorities reviewed Poonawalla’s security status after he reportedly received threats from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. During an interrogation, Shiva Kumar Gautam, the prime accused in the Siddiqui murder case, said that Bishnoi gang member Shubham Lonkar had discussed plans to attack Poonawalla. However, the gang later decided against it due to tight security.
Family opposed relationship
Shraddha and Aftab had been in a relationship for three years before the murder. Her family had strongly opposed their relationship. In 2019, when they objected to her decision to be in a live-in relationship, Shraddha said that she was 25 years old and capable of making her own choices. She even told her father to consider that she was no longer his daughter. The couple initially lived in a rented house in Vasai before moving to Delhi, where Aftab allegedly killed her in a gruesome manner.
Aftab’s confession and subsequent arrest sparked widespread outrage and shock across India. The case highlighted the issue of domestic violence and the need for greater awareness and support for victims of abuse. The trial is ongoing, with Aftab facing charges of murder, destruction of evidence and other related offenses. If convicted, he could face the death penalty or life imprisonment.
