Shraddha Walker and Aaftab Poonawala posed as a married couple: a flat owner near Mumbai.

According to the flat owner and the housing society’s secretary, Aaftab Poonawala and his live-in partner Shraddha Walker, whom he allegedly killed in Delhi six months ago, described themselves as a married couple while renting a home near Mumbai for ten months until last year.

Jayashree Patkar, the owner of the Regal cooperative housing society in Vasai’s Evershine City, also claimed Poonawala and Walker told her real estate agent that they planned to stay there with other family members. According to her, the two fought frequently, and their relationship had already soured when they moved into her home.

Dilip Sawant, secretary of the society, stated that they were informed that the couple was married, as stated in a copy of the agreement submitted when renting the flat for 11 months from October 2020 to September 2021.

The Indian Express looked over the police no-objection certificate, which was also submitted to the society at the time: it included a photo of Poonawala’s father in the tenant’s column, as well as one of another woman. According to police sources, investigators believe this photo is of Walker’s mother.

“I believe they did this to mislead us into thinking a family was moving in… “Unmarried couples rarely get flats to rent here,” Patkar, the flat owner, explained. “When they first approached my agent to rent the one-bedroom apartment, they claimed to be married. The agent, who has managed this house for the past ten years, informed me that a family was coming to stay.