Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesman Shehzad Poonawalla has initiated legal action against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) lawmaker Naresh Balyan after the latter inferred that Poonawalla was involved in a brutal crime for which a man with the same surname has been accused.
On Monday, Delhi police arrested Aftab Amin Poonawalla for allegedly murdering and chopping up the body of his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar. According to media reports, Walkar was strangled on May 18, purportedly following a marriage altercation. It's unclear at the time of writing if Shehzad and Aftab Amin bare any relation to each other.
Nonetheless, Balyan took to Twitter, asking what Shehzad’s relationship with Aftab Amin was in a tweet in Hindi, and why the BJP spokesman was “running away” from questions.
Responding to the allegations, the BJP spokesman tweeted that his lawyer had initiated criminal and civil proceedings against the AAP lawmaker for his “unsubstantiated, reckless & defamatory statements.”
Soon after the BJP politician announced the legal action, Balyan went on to accuse him of backing the accused murderer.
The AAP lawmaker said in his tweet: “BJP politician Shahzad Poonawalla came out in support of Aftab Poonawalla, the murderer of Shraddha. He is threatening me with a case if I raise my voice for Shraddha.”
Balyan insisted that he would continue to raise his voice for the people and justice for Shraddha Walkar.
Aftab Amin Poonawalla is currently in police custody for allegedly chopping up the body of his live-in partner into 35 pieces. The couple were living in Delhi after the victim’s family purportedly disapproved of her relationship with the accused.