Nine years, three investigations by as many teams, two sets of suspects and different theories later, the mystery around the Aarushi-Hemraj murder case remains unsolved, and it’s back to square one.
The case was probed by the UP police first and then by two separate teams of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
From day one, the case has seen many twists and turns. Soon after Aarushi’s murder, domestic help Hemraj Banjade was declared the prime suspect since he was found missing. The next day his blood-soaked body was found on the terrace of their flat.
A week later, the UP police arrested Rajesh, claiming he had confessed to the crime. With the crime scene not being guarded to get crucial forensic evidence, the UP police only banked on the “confession” to declare Rajesh the killer and hinted at an honour killing angle. With the UP police facing flak, the case was transferred to the CBI.
CBI teams never probed the botched-up investigation by the UP police, and how crucial evidence was lost in the first 24 hours of the crime. The dressing up of the crime scene was never investigated either.
With no crucial recoveries like that of the murder weapon, the CBI depended on various disclosures, narco-analysis of key players and a sound test in the Talwar household to reach the conclusion that the couple in their room with the AC on could not hear anything happening in the adjacent room where Aarushi was killed.
The CBI’s final theory that led to the conviction of Talawars was that two types of weapons were used in the killings — one was a heavy and blunt object and the other a sharp and light instrument.
The blunt injury was caused first and was sufficient to cause death. The identical measurement of the lacerated wound by the blunt weapon on both victims shows the use of the same weapon. But till date the two objects remain untraced.
Other than the parents, three domestic helps — Raj Kumar, Vijay Mandal and Krishna, who knew the Talwars — were also arrested by the first CBI team and given a clean chit by the other.
After probing the case for a little over a month, the CBI declared in a press conference on July 11, 2008 that the Talwars were innocent.
The theory the CBI worked upon was that the three men tried to assault Aarushi and when Hemraj intervened they killed them both. Then CBI Director Ashwani Kumar was not convinced with the theory and was not in favour of pressing charges against the trio.
A new team under Superintendent of Police Nilabh Kishore took over and the Investigating Officer, Additional Superintendent of Police late AGL Kaul, once again started probing the role of the Talwars.
In 2010 when AP Singh was the CBI Director, the CBI filed a closure report in the Ghaziabad court citing lack of evidence and critical gaps but stated that Rajesh is the only suspect and three domestic helps were innocent.
Insiders always said this was a strategy to ensure Talwars are put on trial without the CBI formally pressing charges since the agency did not have material evidence and depended only on circumstantial evidence.
The trial court rejected the closure report and ordered the trial and convicted the couple in 2013.
Whodunnit
- First the UP police, then two separate CBI teams investigated the case
- Neither of the two objects, allegedly used to commit the murders, found
