Some incidents are rare, twisted and yet Judiciary assures of justice at the fag end of the day! It has been almost 9 years ever since the double murder of 14-year-old Aarushi Talwar and 45-year-old domestic help Hemraj which shook the nation. There has been an extensive investigation conducted by CBI and so many theories and counter-theories have been discussed in media to explain the murder or to pinpoint the culprits. Can any parent kill own daughter? Is this a case of honour killing? Was Aarushi a victim of the bigger nexus? Did she fell prey to the situation? Was Hemraj a part of collateral damage or a repeat offender? Truly, there are ample questions which are still unanswered after all these years.
On November 26, 2013, Ghaziabad CBI Court sentenced life imprisonment of Rajesh Talwar and Nupur Talwar, who were ‘found’ to be guilty. Interestingly, the Allahabad High Court bench comprising of Justice BK Narayana and Justice AK Mishra upheld the appeals of the Talwar duo and ultimately they were freed for want of real-time evidence. The CBI authorities mostly relied on circumstantial evidence but the Talwars always mentioned their innocence in the whole matter. In fact, they were the saddest persons on earth who hailed from a respected family of the society with such acclaim.
In cricket, the whole of ‘benefit of the doubt’ is very common and often the outcome favours the batsman concerned. In this particular case, the evidence presented by CBI didn’t stand judicial scrutiny. Ever since the beginning, an investigation into this case has witnessed numerous theories. Police, in the beginning, suspected that it was a case of honour killing, pointing at a possible relationship between Aarushi and Hemraj.
Incidentally, when Aarushi’s body was discovered on May 16, 2008, Hemraj was still missing. On the very next day, his decomposed body was discovered on the terrace. In between various sessions in court, the whole probability of a possible extra-judicial affair of Rajesh Talwar was also discussed but none of investigating authorities could comprehensively prove anything as such.
Added to that, CBI was criticised for opting dubious methods to extract a confession from the servants of the house. There is no denying the fact that the presence of a third influential party is not impossible in this high profile murder case. Hemraj’s mobile was never found and even, just a few days before the day of the murders, Hemraj claimed of a threat to his life. There are serious lapses in the sequence of events and callousness of local police authorities didn’t help the whole investigation either.
Overall it can be said, investigation in this double murder case has not been above suspicion other. Even if there has been any influence (if at all), it is important to find out the stronger sides with prior motivation.
After all, Aarushi Talwar, a girl in her early teens, deserved a fulfilled life and the so-called media didn’t respect the ethical decorum. The media houses killed Aarushi many times, more than anyone else, in all these years! It remains to be seen whether CBI counters against the Allahabad Court diktat. Someday, somewhere the murderers of Aarushi and Hemraj will definitely have to answer their conscience.
