Victim-Shaming & Media Hounding, Netizens React To Gruesome Delhi Murder Case

The Shraddha Vikas Walkar murder case and its gruesome details have shocked the entire nation. The 26-year-old was allegedly killed by her live-in partner Aaftab Amin Poonawala on May 18 following a heated argument in their Chhatarpur flat in the national capital.

Poonawala cut Shraddha's body into 35 pieces and stored them in a refrigerator he purchased shortly after committing the horrific crime. Over the next 16 days, he would carry a body part from their South Delhi flat and would dispose of it in a forest area near Mehrauli.

'Forget I'm Your Daughter'

Hailing from the Palghar district of Maharashtra, the two met in 2019 on a dating app, Bumble, and started dating soon after. Later, they moved to Mumbai for higher education and job opportunities. While working in an IT company, the couple rented a flat in Naigaon East and lived there for around two years. Shraddha informed her parents about her relationship with Aaftab in 2019; however, her parents were against the relationship citing communal differences.

According to the FIR, Shraddha's father, Vikas Walkar, filed, "Despite incurring our displeasure, our daughter (Shraddha) said to us: 'I'm 25 years old now, and I have all the right to take my decisions. I have to live with Aftab Ameen Poonawala in a live-in relationship. From today, forget that I am your daughter'. She just took her clothes and left to live with Aftab Ameen Poonawala," reported Firstpost.

Friends of the couple shared in the same report that while the two started their relationship in a very happy phase, problems soon caught up when Aaftab turned abusive towards her. Shraddha had also confided in her mother about the instances when the accused was physically violent towards her; however, she did not leave him.

Events Leading Up To The Murder

In early 2022, the two went on a trip to Himachal Pradesh and then moved to Delhi's Chhatarpur Enclave in their rented flat on May 15. Three days later, Shraddha and Aaftab got into an argument; she wanted to get married but suspected that he was cheating on her. When the argument escalated, in a fit of rage, Aaftab strangled Shraddha to death.

The police stated that Aaftab had attempted to kill Shraddha ten days before her murder; however, he saw her weeping and took a step back.

The victim's friend Laxman Nadar had tried contacting her several times after May 18 but found that her phone was switched off. He called Shraddha's father on September 16 and informed him that her phone had been unreachable for several months, and there had been no activity on her social media pages since May. Concerned about his daughter's safety, Vikas Walkar approached the Palghar district police, who then transferred the case to Delhi Police to carry out the investigation.

As the investigation is still on and grisly details about the case are coming up, people have taken to social media to share their reactions and thoughts. Many have been victim-shaming Shraddha for not listening to her parents and being rebellious to move away from home with the accused.

A considerable part of the Twitterati is urging others to address the real issues concerning toxic relationships and abusive partners instead of trivialising the case by relating it to Love Jihad and women's freedom to make choices.

A user shared that society should support and encourage women to walk out of bad relationships instead of suffering in silence due to social stigma.

A woman is chopped by a man but blame is on her asking why she didn't get out of a toxic relationship. That's how society normalise violence against women. Utterly disgusted by metro media coverage of #ShraddhaWalkar gruesome murder.

— Tongam Rina (@tongamrina) November 15, 2022

Another user pointed out that Shraddha might not have had a strong circle of friends and family, which is why no one checked on her following her death.

Several users have also highlighted the unnecessary incessant news updates about the murder, questioning what purpose they are serving.

Currently, the Delhi Police is investigating the murder, trying to find the missing body parts and the murder weapon. The court hearing will be conducted as soon as the police conclude the investigation. Until then, Poonawala will stay in police custody.

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