The Curious Case of Aarushi Talwar

There are but a few cases that are as mind-blowing as they are gruesome.


In the world's second most populated country, there is bound to be an audience willingly and often unknowingly struck by the media frenzy. These people seem to know the murderer - even before the court has announced its verdict. The media is driven by politics and police - the two most abashed and unapologetic pinnacles of corruption in the country. So when 14-year-old Aarushi Talwar was murdered, fingers were pointed at her father, and mother, as an accomplice. They go on trial tomorrow.


The mother claimed that it was outrageous that she and her husband were being targeted by the cops and the media. She also said that the real killer could possibly be roaming free "out there". People have different reasons and explanations about their understanding of who the killer might be.


The various facts of the case are extremely confusing, and bewildering, in the least. Also, the way this investigation has been handled raises some serious concerns about the implementation and the adherence of basic, universal laws relating to Criminology and the Law of Evidence. Both the aspects of the case have haunted and disturbed me deeply.


The "facts" of the case are as follows.. Before you read this, advise be cautioned that no one for sure knows exactly what happened. So these "facts" are the ones that the media has brought up. We all know the CBI stands for Congress Bureau of Investigation, so there's practically little or no real knowledge any one has. My fear is, if anyone ever will.


On 16th May, 2008, Aarushi Talwar's dead body was discovered at around 6 AM by her father, who, as a part of their routine, went to wake her up. He saw his daughter's throat had been skillfully slit with what the forensic experts later claimed to be done with a surgical knife. Dr. Rajesh Talwar, the father, worked at Fortis Hospital. The wife, Dr. Nupur Talwar, was a dentist with a clinic of her own.


In his statement, Dr. Rajesh Talwar claimed he immediately called his domestic helper, Hemraj, on his cell phone. Hemraj was nowhere to be found. A close servant of the family, he used to help the doctors run their clinic and discharge his duties in the house, too. That morning, he was not even picking up the phone. This aroused suspicion in the minds of the doctors. Everyone was quick to point the finger at Hemraj.


A few hours later, a retired police officer, K.K. Gautam, arrived at the Talwar residence to express his condolences, and by a hunch (as unbelievable as it may sound) he went to the terrace. He apparently must have seen the trail of blood leading up the terrace. But then, why didn't anyone else notice it? The terrace was locked from inside. So he broke open the lock and discovered Hemraj, the domestic helper's body. Even his throat had been slit, with precision.


The autopsy report on 17th May 2008 stated that there was semi-digested food in Aarushi's stomach. Her last meal was estimated at around 11 PM. The contents inside Hemraj's stomach were identified to be alcohol. A vaginal swab test was not conducted. Some reports say it was conducted, and that the victim was not molested or raped. Some reports claim that her autopsy report was switched.


It is baffling to note that two senior inspectors conducting the investigation were transfered barely two day after the murder. SP Mahesh Mishra was transferred out of the city on 18th May 2008. What kind of a police authority transfers key official right after or during an impending double homicide? 


Startling Contradictions:


It may be recalled that the father had claimed to have called Hemraj on his cellphone earlier that morning. The TeleCommunications Department denied this: no doctor's calls featured in the Missed Calls' category on Hemraj's phone - when it was discovered. 


The parents' side of story: Both the doctors returned home at around 10 PM on Wednesday, 15th May 2008. They had dinner at around 10: 30 PM. Dr. Rajesh Talwar went to his daughter's bedroom later that night to ask something about the internet and that was the last time he saw her alive. The following morning, he also said he opened the door to let the maid in. 


The Contradiction: The driver stated that both the doctors had not gone to work on Wednesday. The maid stated that Dr. Nupur Talwar had thrown the keys down for her to open and get inside the house.


Dr. Nupur Talwar later stated she'd asked Hemraj to go to the house on Wednesday, since Aarushi was alone in the house. On a routine basis, he carried out certain duties in the clinic, but a day before the murder, the wife told him to be in the house instead.


Major lapses in the case


One of the most baffling aspect in this case - apart from the crime itself - is the way the investigation was conducted and carried out. The crime scene is always closed and secured- for the fear of being CONTAMINATED - only allowing the cops (related to the case) and other experts to access it. Yet, the parents, maids, helpers, other people were freely accessing the place. 


Some news from the evidence front stated that there were four glasses and a bottle of whiskey were found in the house. What I don't understand is what the hell happened to the evidence? Hair, finger prints, trail of blood, anything? Why is it so difficult to solve this case? The crime scene itself can provide important clues. 


Another theory that is in the favour of the parents is that probably, Krishna, Shambhu, Rajkumar (domestic helpers of the Talwar family) and Hemraj himself, were drinking on Wednesday night. Krishna was the helper at the clinic. Apparently, they got drunk, and Krishna went up to aarushi's room and started to molest her in the presence of Shambhu and Rajkumar. He was pissed off at Dr. Talwar for shouting at him in front of her patients for not conducting his duties properly. Hemraj tried to stop him, and was killed.


But can two parents sleep soundly in the same house where their daughter is being raped and a domestic helper is killed, and his dead body is dragged all the way to the roof-top? Both the parents, have, replied to this question: the AC was switched on, so in the noise they couldn't hear a thing. Also, how would a servant be capable of conducting that skillful incision on the throats of the victims?


The Other Woman Connection
It was found out that Dr. Rajesh Talwar had made around 197 calls to a certain fellow female companion, and on the day before the murder he had called her 6 times. She used to work at the same hospital. And the rumour has it that he often used to bring her to the house, in the absence of his wife. The servants knew about their affair, and apparently, Hemraj had also confided the same in Aarushi. 


The wife vehemently denied this and said she had complete faith in her husband. Also, during the polygraph test or the lie-detector test, both the husband and wife would evade questions or simply not answer them. Sometimes, the wife used to be late for conducting these tests. 


Let's assume that if Dr. Rajesh Talwar has not committed the murders, and is his wife is not an accomplice, then why do they evade questions? What are they hiding? Who are they protecting?


Another theory states that on the fateful night, Dr. Rajesh Talwar saw Aarushi and Hemraj in a comprising position and that drove him to committing an act of passion. A crime of passion. I believe that no parent can take such a step. Honour killing is not a reality in a household which has such qualified doctors with amazing political connections. This act can be safely reserved to down-trodden families, masked in a generation of denial and poverty. Also, her close friends say that such a claim is preposterous and the media shouldn't indulge in character assassination of the dead. Hemraj's son-in-law says that he was a man of dignity and he would never do such a thing. 


A social worker had confided to the cops that a few days before he was killed, Hemraj had called her, and said that he believed that his life was in danger. The woman said she'd meet him after some days since she was busy. Turned out to be too late for Hemraj. Reports claim that Dr. Rajesh Talwar was growing wary of the household gossip amongst the servants about his alleged affair with the fellow doctor and had warned Hemraj a couple of times. But Hemraj had confided this to the daughter and she was disturbed too. She had planned on confronting her father regarding this.


But what is a daughter's life in comparison to an exposed affair? 


Aarushi was the only daughter, and she was conceived after a tumultuous five years of their marriage? Are parents really capable of doing that? And not just any parents, but the ones who were wealthy and well qualified? 


If the father killed the daughter, what was the motive? A threat of an exposed affair, to me, is simply not motive enough to kill one's own child.


Can the domestic helpers carry out such a heinous crime without attracting an iota of attention or suspicion from the parents in the same house?


Or, is the killer really roaming free, after skillfully carrying out such a crime(s), with the scalpel, so as to point all the fingers at Dr. Rajesh Talwar?


What are the parents hiding? Who are they protecting? Does this case hold secrets of a much larger political gamble? What is the stake?


Sometimes I think we should make use of satellite imaging to crack such cases. On a rational and a more real level, I firmly believe that a crime scene and an honest investigation is enough to solve cases. The way in which the entire investigation was carried out and the media circus and the political transfers that have happened in the case, I feel sorry at the country's state of affairs and law and order. May be they don't want us to find out.