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This is how friends and former colleagues of the 27-year-old Shraddha Walkar remember her — an avid traveller, “an achiever” and “a smart, introvert girl”, who started withdrawing from her social circles as her relationship live-in partner and alleged murderer Aftab Poonawala started turning sour.
A former batchmate and colleague remembers Shraddha reaching out to him in October last year.
“She hugged me as soon as we met. I tried to pacify her. I saw bruises on her neck and hands. She told me that her relationship with Aftab had deteriorated, and that he had become aggressive and abusive. I suggested that she walk out of the abusive relationship because she didn’t deserve it,” says Raunak Kotekar, 28, who works as an executive in an MNC.
He first met Shraddha in 2018 while they were pursuing their Bachelor of Mass Media (BMM) degree.
In 2021, Shraddha took up a job at a call centre where Mr. Kotekar used to work.
Shraddha again reached out to him in February this year.
She had just returned from Himachal Pradesh and wanted to talk to him about her trip. To remain in touch, Mr. Kotekar kept sending her messages on Instagram, despite not receiving any response from her. “I thought she had disappeared from social media again. She would do this once in a while. There was nothing suspicious about it,” he said.
On Monday, he saw a video on Instagram with Shraddha’s face on it. “That’s how I got to know she was murdered. I haven’t been able to process it,” he said.
Lubaina Baquari, a former colleague, described Shraddha as an “achiever”.
Another friend, who did not wish to be named, described Shraddha as a “smart, introvert girl”.
He said Shraddha would finish her work quickly and race out of the office during her work breaks.
‘Speedy Gonzales’
“I called her ‘Speedy Gonzales’, after the animated cartoon character,” her former colleague, who used to work with her at a call centre in 2018, said.
“She was headstrong. She knew what she wanted. She made it a point to go on a solo trip once a year. Himachal was her favourite spot. She loved talking about her travels,” her former colleague added.
Rajat Shukla, who pursued his BMM with Shraddha, said, “If we knew what she was going through, we would’ve reached out to her… It’s like all of us failed to help her, to save a life.”
