In 2020, Shraddha was in Nalasopara hospital for three days for treatment of internal injuries

“She complained of severe back and neck pain, due to which she was not able to walk or move her neck. Her treatment was started and she underwent physiotherapy, following which the pain subsided and she was discharged after three days,” he added.

The doctor said that during the time of admission, Aaftab had introduced himself as Shraddha’s husband. “The boy had come along with her and identified himself as her husband. We had called them for follow-up post her discharge but they did not show up,” Shinde added.

Shinde said Shraddha was hesitant about revealing what had caused the injuries. “They were similar to injuries that one suffers during a physical assault,” he added. Her medical reports stated that she had complained of severe back pain, nausea and difficulty in movement of neck for five days before she came to the hospital.

The police, meanwhile, are investigating a chat in which Shraddha had told a colleague that she had been assaulted. In the message she sent on November 24, days before she was admitted to the hospital, Shraddha wrote: “And I won’t be able to make it today because from all the beating yesterday. I guess my bp is low and my body hurts. Energy nahi bachi hai bed se uthne.”

A person named Rahul Roy, who claims to have known Shraddha, said on Friday that he had received a call for help from one of her friend’s during the same period in November.

A driver by profession, Roy told The Indian Express, “We had a common friend, Godwin, who in November 2020 called me to say that Shraddha was in trouble and requested me to help her. When we met her, she had bruises on her body… after which we (Godwin and Roy) went to Tulinj police station and lodged a non-cognizable offence.”

When The Indian Express contacted the Tulinj police station, officers said they had received no such complaint. “We did not receive any complaint. After coming to know of what had happened at the hospital, we sent a police team to the hospital on Friday. The hospital authorities said they did not inform the police then as Shraddha had not complained about being assaulted,” Senior Inspector Rajendra Kamble of Tulinj police station said.