Tweet Follow @S_kotnala
May 2008, Aarushi Talwar (13) was found murdered in her room at JalVayu Vihar, Noida. Her parents Nupur and Rajesh sleeping in the next room had no clue, when and how was she murdered. 24 hour later body of Hemraj (their servant, 45) was found on the terrace. He was murdered in similar fashion. On day 1 the bumbling police had missed searching the terrace, as the key was not available. This in spite of blood stains on the railing of the steps leading to the terrace.
The case was all over. It was sensational fodder for the public and media. It made to discussions over coolers, in bus stops, overdrinks. Everyone has theories on how it happened. Ultimately there were two camps. One that believed the parents murdered her and second that believe Parents had nothing to do with the murder. A subsection believed that the Servants did it. I personally have my own reasons to believe that Nupur and Rajesh Talwar were innocent.
Though in 2013 the court finally found Talwar couple guilty of killing their yet-to-turn 14 daughter Aarushi, for most of us the case remains an unsolved one. The couple is currently in Dasna jail and trying to get an appeal working at Allahabad High courts, which like everything else has a ‘Please wait, you are in queue’ tag.
My memories of the sensational murder was already raked up by the film TALWARS. And hence reading the book AARUSHI by Avirook Sen was as good as being in 2008 and following every development in the case.
It was so sensational that media at that time lapped anything and everything they were served by the police, pseudo experts and CBI. And we were treated to a live drama through media reporting’s.
The case is one of real complex one. It is full of process lapses, manipulations, Contradictions, media hype, witness denials, convenience trailing, true & truer versions and investigation myopia. The defendants were denied access to files and pushed through a speedy trial. It was all over before the final arguments started. Such is the state of affairs.
For people who have read about the case, the book is simply ‘unputdownable’. I am yet to read a better book on any real life murder, its complicated investigation and finally the legal process.
The book brings alive fear. It brings alive helplessness. It kills many hopes and wills. I shudder to think how a common man like me will react and behave if was thrown in a situation. Read Aarushi to just understand how you can be victimised even if you are not necessarily on the wrong side of law.
Aarushi by Avirook Sen published by Penguin. INR 299. Pages 302
