Mumbai doctor says Shraddha spoke to him about depression, Aftab's violence issues

The doctor, who normally doesn't offer phone consultations, heard her out because she gave the reference of a social worker he knew

A Mumbai-based doctor claimed on Friday that murder victim Shraddha Walkar had consulted him last year about her depression as well as her live-in partner Aftab Amin Poonawala's violent behaviour. Dr Pranav Kabra, who runs a multi-speciality hospital in suburban Malad, told PTI that he received a call from a woman who identified herself as Shraddha Walkar in February 2021.

Walkar worked in a call centre in the same area. Though he did not normally offer consultation on phone without knowing the patient, he decided to hear her out as she gave the reference of a social worker he knew, Kabra said.

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"She told me about her depression, and the anger management and violence issues of her boyfriend. I told her we do not consult or diagnose first-time patients on the phone, but since there was Covid threat, she said she would not be able to visit the hospital personally," he said. Dr Kabra then told her that they needed to carry out a psychiatric evaluation and psychiatric and psychological tests for both, her boyfriend and herself.

"She was hesitant to come to the hospital for various reasons, but told me on the phone that her boyfriend Aftab got very violent even for minor reasons or small fights or misunderstandings, and she was worried that he might harm her or himself or both of them," he added. Walkar also told him that her boyfriend was behaving very weirdly of late and was always on the phone and chatting on WhatsApp.

"I suggested she and her boyfriend do yoga and other deep breathing exercises and try to visit me as soon as possible. I also suggested she meet a counsellor and discuss the issue," Dr Kabra said. But she never met him, he added.

She had disclosed her as well as her boyfriend's name, and therefore when he saw the news of her gruesome killing on TV earlier this month, he realized that she was possibly the same person, Dr Kabra said. "Unfortunately, it was too late," he added.

According to police, Walkar and Poonawala worked in the same call centre in Mumbai but later shifted to Delhi as their families were opposed to their relationship. Poonawala allegedly strangled Walkar, 27, on May 18 and sawed her body into 35 pieces which he kept in a fridge for almost three weeks at his residence in South Delhi's Mehrauli before dumping them across the city.