Was Shraddha battling depression due to constant abuse by Aftab?

Shraddha Walkar’s live-in-partner Aaftab Poonawala, accused of brutally murdering her in Delhi and chopping her body into 35 pieces is behaving like a “hardcore criminal,” according to an official. In the latest update, Shraddha Walkar, the 26-year-old woman who was brutally murdered by Aftab Poonawala in Delhi, had consulted a Mumbai doctor about her depression as well as her live-in partner’s anger issues and violent streak, the latest probe into the gruesome case has revealed.

According to a CNN News 18 report, the 26-year-old consulted the doctor — who was close to her call centre — over the phone in February 2021 after she was referred by a social worker.While the doctor asked Shraddha to visit the hospital since a phone consultation or diagnosis would be difficult, she refused citing the Covid-19 threat. The doctor also said the hospital was then a designated Covid-19 facility and he had told Shraddha about the need for a psychiatric evaluation and psychological tests for the couple.

The doctor said Shraddha had confided about Aftab’s temper and how she was scared that he may harm her or himself during one of his bouts. He said he suggested the couple do some yoga and deep breathing exercises and meet him as soon as possible but Shraddha never turned up. The Delhi Police is now gathering evidence from spots that Aftab Poonawalla and his victim Shraddha Walkar visited over the days preceding the latter’s murder. Shraddha, an aspiring journalist was strangled by her live-in partner Aftab on May 18. He then chopped her body into 35 pieces, which he kept in a 300-litre fridge for almost three weeks at his residence in South Delhi's Mehrauli, before dumping them across the city over several days past midnight.