While the 24-7 news channels have completely taken over people’s lives in India, some news stories tend to stay on with viewers for a long time. They follow it like a soap opera and are well-versed with each and every development in that case. It won’t be wrong to say that the media plays a very important life in influencing its viewers’ perceptions.
One such case is 14-year old Aarushi Talwar and domestic servant Hemraj’s murder that shook the world in May 2008. The double-murder case in Noida was in news for a long time with twists and turns, no less than an Indian TV serial. In the end, the teenager’s parents Nupur and Rajesh Talwar were accused of the double murder and convicted.
Seven years later, journalist-turned-author Avirook Sen has written a book that combines his experiences at the trial, interviews with those involved in the investigation. The book examines documents as well as court proceedings exposing the nature of the Indian judicial system. Sen also interviews everyone from Aarushi’s friends to Hemraj’s old boss, investigators to forensic scientists and the parents – Rajesh and Nupur Talwar at every stage.
The book raises several questions on the way the case was handled by the UP police, the CBI and the judiciary. The book also brings to light the excitement on the part of media channels to broadcast case developments, stories, juicy interviews and sometimes even enact the case using red paints in order to give their viewers a better idea of what really happened.
For instance, the book talks about a news channel anchor who dipped his hands in red paint in order to show what would have happened inside Aarushi’s room. While such episodes might fetch high TRP’s they tend to influence viewer perceptions and that is exactly what happened in this case. Suddenly the Talwars became the villains who killed their daughter in the name of honour killing. Even while the case was on trial, people around the country had already passed their judgement with the parents as criminals.
The book also raises interesting questions about the speed at which the trial progressed. One of the reasons, according to Sen was Judge Shymlal approaching retirement and this being an attention grabbing case and thus his interest to wrap up the case before his last day at work. In the book, Sen talks about meeting Judge Shyamlal after the Talwars were convicted. Judge Shyamlal was now retired and spent time mentoring his lawyer son Aushotosh. He mentioned to Sen that he wrote the judgement much before the defence finished making its final arguments. His son Aushotosh also mentioned using good words to make it read well. It mentions a number of incidents such as the attack on Rajesh Talwar outside the court with a meat cleaver, Nupur’s interview on NDTV leading to speculations that she is involved in the crime since she showed no sadness of losing her daughter among others.
The book leaves you unsettled in the end with a sense of shock. It makes you question the judicial system of India, the police and the investigators. It shows how one day a family could be happy and the next day everything could go wrong. Sen does a great analysis of each and every character and the role they played during investigation. He also brings to light their shortcomings and their strengths making it easier for the reader to grasp the story.
The most touching part of the book is the end where Sen has quoted excerpts from Rajesh Talwar’s diary. Rajesh Talwar maintained a diary with his daily noted which included living conditions in Dasna jail, his fellow inmates and his interactions with Nupur who seemed to be slowly getting nervous by the day as compared to her earlier strong self. The excerpts also has Rajesh Talwar constantly feeling sad over his destiny and his failure to save Aarushi from dying.
While no one knows what really happened that night, the book takes you on a journey through each and every investigation and trial, leaving the rest for you to understand. With Rajesh and Nupur Talwar still in Dasna prison, waiting for their appeal to get accepted, one can only hope that justice prevails.
