The sensational double-murder mystery of 13-year-old Aarushi Talwar and her family’s 45-year-old domestic help, Hemraj Banjade, turned into a high-profile murder mystery due to a botched police investigation and unethical media trial. Aarushi’s parents were convicted but they were later acquitted by the court for the lack of evidence.
Born on May 24, 1994, Aarushi Talwar was the only daughter of the dentist couple – Dr. Rajesh Talwar and Dr. Nupur Talwar. She lived with her parents at Jalvayu Vihar apartments, Noida. Student at Delhi Public School Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India, Aarushi was full of life just like any other teenager.
Hemraj (full name – Yam Prasad Banjade) was the live-in domestic help and cook of the Talwar family. The family of Hemraj lived in his native village in the Arghakhanchi district of Nepal.
On the night of 15 May 2008, 14-year-old Aarushi Talwar was found murdered in her bed. She had sustained injuries from a fatal blow to her forehead and her throat was slit. Aarushi’s body was found by her parents the next morning.
Aarushi’s parents and their domestic help, Hemraj, were believed to be in the house at the time of the murder. However, Hemraj was missing when Aarushi’s body was discovered. Talwar’s family suspected Hemraj of Aarushi’s murder.
The next day Hemraj’s decomposed body was discovered on the terrace of Talwar’s apartment, and this brought a sensational twist to the case.
The Police ruled out Hemraj as a suspect in the case and turned their needle of suspicion on Aarushi’s parents, Dr. Rajesh and Nupur Talwar. The police considered them the prime suspects in the case.
The police speculated two possible scenarios – Either Dr. Rajesh had murdered Aarushi and Hemraj after finding them in an “objectionable” position or Hemraj was blackmailing Rajesh for an alleged extramarital affair that led to a confrontation.
The Talwars and their friends were furious with the police over the character assassination of a deceased teenager. They accused the police of framing them to cover up a botched-up investigation.
On May 31, 2008, the case was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
During the initial investigation, the CBI exonerated the Talwar couple and suspected Talwar’s assistant Krishna and two domestic helpers in the neighborhood, Rajkumar, and Vijay. The CBI, however, was not able to prove its case against the three suspects, resulting in their discharge. Also, there were allegations that the agency was trying to frame them by forcing confessions out of them.
In 2009, the investigation was handed over to a new team led by AGL Kaul, who had a reputation of being an ace investigator.
AGL Kaul’s team noticed critical gaps in investigations and recommended the case be closed. Based on circumstantial evidence, the team declared Dr. Rajesh Talwar as the sole suspect. The team, however, could not charge him due to a lack of evidence. However, the CBI Special Court rejected the CBI team’s recommendation that there was not enough evidence and ordered proceedings against the Talwars, which lead to their eventual conviction in 2013.
The CBI considered golf clubs belonging to Rajesh Talwar as the murder weapon, though the first CBI team had mentioned khukri (a Nepali knife) as the murder weapon.
The CBI claimed two of the clubs, from a set of 12, were cleaner than the others and the dimensions of one club matched the blunt injuries inflicted on Aarushi and Hemraj. One of the clubs was missing but Nupur, apparently a family friend found it in a loft while cleaning the Talwar’s house a few months before May 2009.
The Trial
On the night of May 15, 2008, Dr. Rajesh Talwar heard some noise from Aarushi’s room. When Rajesh pushed open the door, he found Aarushi and Hemraj in an intimate position. Enraged at the sight, he bludgeoned them to death with a golf club. The dentist couple’s failure to explain the double murders at their home and in their presence was considered to be crucial circumstantial evidence against them that lead to their conviction.
Conviction in Aarushi Talwar Murder Case
On November 26, 2013, Dr. Rajesh and Nupur Talwar were convicted and sentenced to life by a CBI court.
The controversial verdict was questioned by the legal experts and the supporters of Talwars because the judge based Talwar’s conviction on a chain of 26 circumstantial pieces of evidence that pointed to the involvement of Talwars in the double-murder case. The judgment also failed to mention the motive behind the double murder except alluding to the grave and sudden provocation after Talwars witnessed “their 14-year-old daughter and domestic help Hemraj in a compromising position”.
The Talwars challenged their conviction in The Allahabad High Court, citing they were framed to cover up a botched investigation by the police and CBI. On October 12, 2017, the High Court acquitted Dr. Rajesh and Nupur Talwar by giving them the benefit of doubt due to the lack of evidence against them.
In an interview with Hotstar, for the first time after their acquittal, Rajesh and Nupur Talwar have spoken about their life after Aarushi, their 4-year-long jail term, and the road ahead as they re-enter society and seek justice for their daughter who was murdered nine years ago.
Book on Aarushi Talwar Murder Case
Avirook Sen, a former editor of Hindustan Times, wrote a book on the case, ‘Aarushi – who did it’. The book questions the role of the judge in sentencing Talwars and also points out glaring loopholes in the probe.
Bollywood film on Aarushi Talwar Unsolved Murder
The case also inspired a Bollywood film, Talvar, starring Konkana Sen and Irrfan Khan. Directed by Meghna Gulzar, the film portrays the murders and the subsequent events from the perspective of several witnesses.
In October 2017, Channel News Asia telecasted a four-part investigative documentary series – Aarushi – Beyond Reasonable Doubt. The series looks at the arguments and circumstances of the case, its investigations, and the remaining unresolved questions.
HBO Asia broadcasted a documentary, The Talwars Behind the Closed Doors, which premiered in November 2017.
A website dedicated to the cause of justice for Aarushi Talwar claims Rajesh and Nupur Talwar are Innocent and gives detailed reasoning to back up the claim.
Both Rajesh and Nupur were warm and endearing. In spite of all that they had gone through, there was something very wonderfully humane and positive about them. While Rajesh is trying to reestablish his dentist practice, Nupur is finding ways to volunteer in NGOs.
Where are Dr. Rajesh and Nupur Talwar Now?
The Talwars remain a warm and lovely couple in spite of the harrowing time they had to undergo due to shoddy investigation and reckless media reporting. The couple now lives in New Delhi alone, and the only company they have is Aarushi’s beautiful memories that she created in her tiny yet bright presence.
We will never know who killed Aarushi Talwar and Hemraj. The sensational Noida double murder that rocked the nation will go down in the history as one of the most high-profile cases that remains unsolved.
