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Book review: Aarushi by Avirook Sen
Lurid book jacket notwithstanding, Avirook Sen`s dissection of the trial of Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, following the mysterious murder of their young daughter Aarushi, is an incisive piece of well, reportage. Sen has trimmed virtually all the fat off the bone but what remains still tends to baffle, bemuse, dismay the reader. The real revelation appears at the end of the book, in the contents of the narco-analysis tests done on some suspects.
Somewhere along the line, this becomes less about a heinous murder and more about investigative lapses, alarming prejudices, political and judicial intervention, plumb bad luck, and a media gone berserk.
While Sen`s book (he calls it non-fiction crime) is clear reporting, it however, is not unbiased reporting. Putting all the facts (and it is a considerable amount) he has mustered before the reader, the author makes clear the possibility, the probability, of Aarushi`s parents being innocent.
The mystery, however, sadly endures.
Sheila Kumar • October 5, 2015
Marianne de Nazareth October 5, 2015 - 4:35 pm
My thoughts exactly. He starts and ends the book with that bias towards the parents. The shocking ignorance of the judiciary and their worry about their 'command of English', the policemen and their insistence that Aarushi is a 'characterless' girl just cause of some profanities she has used.in her emails.
Frankly the book should terrify any normal Indian reader, cause no one is safe if this is the kind of justice that is being meted out.
My question — why have those servants been let off inspite of the narco analysis?
Unknown October 11, 2015 - 9:19 am
The reason narco analysis tests cannot be accepted by the court of law is due to the fact the servants were administered with Sodium Pentothal ( Truth Serum ) to obtain information as it becomes difficult for him to lie and his answers would be restricted to facts he is already aware of. The Judiciary system does not accept evidences against the criminal through confessions made during an unconscious state of mind and it's arguably inadmissible due to the inhumane conditions the criminals are put through.
Thelma Cardoza October 11, 2015 - 10:29 am
Usually it is the poor, illiterate and underpriviledged who are the victims of police brutality and innuendos. If one has political connections, money, power, even a profession like lawyer, doctor, filmstar etc. one can expect or buy police leniency. But in rare cases, the police, especially if they have blundered or bungled their investigation from the start as is evident from this murder mystery, could champion the cause of the real culprits. Which of us has not had encounters with police personnel who are filled with false notions of their office? Our Indian police are known for accepting bribes, kowtowing to the politicians who are in the pockets of criminal elements and turning to tedious bureaucratic processes if their whims so dictate.
The Talwars have been wrongfully accused and sentenced, there's no two things about this. The Indian judiciary system itself is a travesty of justice and fairplay. Women are harassed by the police and everyone knows that the judicial system and laws are more biased against women. It is obvious that the crime has been committed by the servants who are covering for each other. Hemraj is another innocent who has been portrayed as a sexual predator. Obviously under the influence, one of the others, has entered Aarushi's room and tried to rape her. Hemraj, sensing or hearing something, would have gone in to rescue her. As a result of which both he and Aarushi were killed. How come nothing is said about the aftermath of the murders? Did the 3 of them flee after staging the murder to look like rape by Hemraj? And attempting to clean up some of the evidence? There are so many details the police messed up by not cordoning off the area and allowing people to stream in and out of the Talwar's house. Too many unanswered questions, too little factual evidence and judgement passed when the judge and jury were not 'beyond reasonable doubt". The Talwars should be set free and the real culprits brought to justice.