Aaftab Poonawala was sent termination notice by Gurgaon firm around same time as arrest

A senior official from the company told The Indian Express, “He joined three months ago and had been working in the client servicing vertical. Over 17-18 days ago, he was seen in the office. His work revolved around making calls to sell the company’s products and services. But after he did not report for work for the past eight-nine days, he was sent a termination notice two days ago for absconding from duty.”

The official added, “After the pandemic, a majority of staff in client servicing has been working in a hybrid model and often employees work from home. So as per policy, if someone absconds from work, a notice of termination is sent. The reasons for his absence in office recently are not known.”

According to the police, Poonawala had earlier worked as a chef at a five-star hotel and was also involved in food photography and digital marketing for restaurants. His Instagram handle has over 28,000 followers.

An employee of the office, “I only heard from media reports about the case. I had seen him in office once, but I was not aware of anything about his previous work profile or personal life.”

The Indian Express reached out to his workplace at their office location and over email, but did not receive a response.

Shraddha Walkar; Aaftab Poonawala being taken to Mehrauli forest in New Delhi, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022. (PTI Photo)

Rajat Shukla, a friend of Shraddha, said, “We have been friends since college days. I had last spoken to her in 2019. From mutual friends, I had heard that Aaftab often beat her up. She had also reached out to her close friend and confided in her about this… She was quite jovial and outspoken in nature… We hope her family gets justice.”

A school friend of the accused said, “He comes from a middle class family… He was slightly chubby in school and was bullied, but he took it in his stride and ignored the taunts. I had not spoken to him since 2012, but we followed each other on Facebook. Like other kids at the time, he followed Hollywood TV shows like ‘Friends’… Yesterday, I heard his name in media reports and was shocked to see his photo. The details are shocking. I could not believe he could do this.”