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Who killed 14 year old Aarushi Talwar? The question continues as Journalist turned writer Avirook Sen tries to find an answer in his latest book, "Aarushi."
Who killed 14 year old Aarushi Talwar? The question stands as Journalist turned writer Avirook Sen tries to find an answer in his latest book, Aarushi.
A blood spattered cover designed to catch the eye, which is appropriate because, for a time, the Aarushi affair had caught the imagination of every middle and upper middle class family in India, and a precise style of delivery in the best journalistic manner; Avirook Sen’s book reopens a seven year old murder mystery that seemed to conform to the best style of the locked door murder – except that there were no Poirots to solve the case.
The almost fourteen year old had been murdered in her bedroom while her parents slept next door and the body of the family’s Nepali servant, Hemraj, who had also been murdered, was later discovered on the terrace upstairs. At first it seemed an open and shut case, the servants confessed they had done it during the narco tests administered to them. But then, without warning, the situation began to change and the parents, dentist Ramesh Talwar and his wife Nupur, came into the limelight as the prime accused when the trial began four years after the actual murder.
The CBI declared it a case of honour killing. Aarushi was a slut and her parents finding her in bed with Hemraj, killed them both and then tried to cover up their guilt. What is alarming is that any suggestion of illicit sex has the media and its readers in a salacious frenzy, but the officer who came into the case, specialized in adding sexual innuendo to his cases and this ensured that Aarushi’s reputation as a serial flirt and her parents’ guilt, along with alleged sexual misconduct on their part, made headlines.
Somewhere along the way, the initial findings disappeared into the woodwork and both medical practitioners and investigating policemen kept changing their statements.
Somewhere along the way, the initial findings disappeared into the woodwork and both medical practitioners and investigating policemen kept changing their statements. The fact that Aarushi’s swab samples had gone astray and that Hemraj’s purple pillowcase, supposed to be the most telling piece of evidence of all, had been found in another flat altogether, were overlooked. Personalities clashed- Nupur, Aarushi’s mother, came across as cold and hard, therefore suspicious. Officer Kaul, the quintessential patriarch, had her down as guilty and from the initial suspicions directed at the servants guilt swivelled to Aarushi’s parents, with no reason given.
What is obvious is that, despite the mistakes made in the handling of the investigation, the CBI was determined to pin the blame on the Talwars and close the case before the judge Shyam Lal retired – Shyam Lal’s team told Sen that it was because the English it was written in had to be perfect since it was a historic judgment. With the result that the verdict was written down a month before it was pronounced in court and it was not shared with the defence team. The Talwars had no chance to take course corrections in their defense strategy. Both of them are serving time in prison at Dasna.
Society writers like Shobhaa De have referred to the Talwars as ‘Aarushi’s Monster Parents.’Never miss real stories from India's women.Register Now
Society writers like Shobhaa De have referred to the Talwars as ‘Aarushi’s Monster Parents.’
Society writers like Shobhaa De have referred to the Talwars as ‘Aarushi’s Monster Parents’ and quite a bit of Delhi society is certain that it was an honour killing, which is why the CBI’s approach to the case changed abruptly.
Sen does not answer the question of who killed Aarushi. Quite obviously he cannot, since the findings remain inconclusive. However, he quotes alarming extracts from the servants’ narco tests and he does make it clear that the case needs to be reopened in order to right the balance of justice and bring some kind of closure.
Publisher: Penguin India
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Neena was the sole caregiver of Amma and though one would think that Amma was dependent on her, Neena felt otherwise.
Neena inhaled the aroma that emanated from the pan and took a deep breath. The aroma of cumin interspersed with butter transported her back to the modest kitchen in her native village. She could picture her father standing in the kitchen wearing his white crisp kurta as he made delectable concoctions for his only daughter.
Neena grew up in a home where both her parents worked together in tandem to keep the house up and running. She had a blissful childhood in her modest two-room house. The house was small but every nook and cranny gave her memories of a lifetime. Neena’s young heart imagined that her life would follow the same cheerful course. But how wrong she was!
When she was sixteen, the catastrophic clutches of destiny snatched away her parents. They passed away in a road accident and Neena was devastated. Relatives thronged her now gloomy house and soon it was decided that she should be married off.
Women today don’t want to be in a partnership that complicates their lives further. They need an equal partner with whom they can figure out life as a team, playing by each other’s strengths.
We all are familiar with that one annoying aunty who is more interested in our marital status than in the dessert counter at a wedding. But these aunties have somehow become obsolete now. Now they are replaced by men we have in our lives. Friends, family, and even work colleagues. It’s the men who are worried about why we are not saying yes to one among their clans. What is wrong with us? Aren’t we scared of dying alone? Like them?
A recent interaction with a guy friend of mine turned sour when he lectured me about how I would regret not getting married at the right time. He lectured that every event in our lives needs to be completed within a certain timeframe set by society else we are doomed. I wasn’t angry. I was just disappointed to realize that annoying aunties are rapidly doubling in our society. And they don’t just appear at weddings or family functions anymore. They are everywhere. They are the real pandemic.
Let’s examine this a little closer.
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