By now, the Aarushi case has proved to have more twists and turns than an Agatha Christie whodunit. As things stand now the needle of suspicion has finally come to rest on the Talwars, parents of the slain teenager. Once again, the media, which had been lying low for a while, is whetting its knives for another round of half-baked theories and character assassination, without really having a clue about the dynamics at work in this extremely complex case.
Circumstantial evidence seems to be heavily loaded against the Talwars. But if one looks deeply enough, there are several innocent explanations for what seem to be highly incriminating actions on the part of the Talwars. Whatever the outcome of the case, let us remind ourselves of one important thing – even if the guilty go unpunished, the innocent should not hang for a crime they did not commit.
There are many reasons why some people believe that the Talwars are guilty. It has been said that 1) Nupur Talwar did not betray any emotion 2) the knife wound on Aarushi’s throat had surgical expertise 3) Aarushi’s room key was with Nupur. 4) The Talwars cleaned up the crime scene 5) Dinesh Talwar tried to influence the forsenic department to omit mention of rape.
But all these facts of are simply not enough to accuse the Talwars of murdering their only child. First of all, Nupur Talwar is a doctor, who is trained to keep emotions under control, in emergency situations. One cannot expect her to behave like any ordinary housewife or mother. Besides, there were moments during which she did break down on TV.
Just because she did not beat her chest on TV does not mean that she’s a cold-blooded killer of her own daughter.
Secondly, it does not take surgical expertise to make the wounds on Aarushi’s throat. A butcher, or anyone who has slaughtered a goat or a chicken could probably do it. But the method of killing in this case, is very unusual for a parent.
Thirdly, the room key could have been left outside mistakenly. People become complacent and forgetful on occasions.
Fourthly, no parent wants to preserve for long gory reminders of a crime scene, which reminds them of their terrible loss. Besides, both being doctors, it was probably a natural instinct to clean up the room.
Fifthly, it is shocking thing to learn that your beloved child may have been brutally raped. Perhaps the Talwars did not want the fact to be made public as it would besmirch the reputation of their daughter. It is possible that they tried to conceal evidence about the rape, for their daughter’s sake. In that case, and this is only supposition, they committed an offence. But that still does not make them killers.
So far, all that the police and CBI have are only suppositions and conjectures. It’d have been more responsible of them to close the case saying that they have no evidence to go on. But what they have chosen to do is weave a web of innuendo around the Talwars, condemning them to live forever under the shadow of doubt and suspicion. If this is not injustice, what is it?
We also have people like Shobha De, a writer of lurid fiction, coming on TV and irresponsibly declaring that this is a cold-blooded, premeditated crime executed by highly intelligent minds, meaning the Talwars. What if this crime happens to be the perfect murder, executed by a bunch of low-lifes of mean intellect, aided by circumstance and coincidence? They just got lucky. Maybe, no one believes that a couple of common servants or thieves or rapists can get that lucky.
The Talwars do not fit the profile of a boondocks family in khaapland, out to avenge their honour by killing a love-lorn daughter who eloped with a low-caste. They are educated professionals, who doted on their only child, and even at this point, are fighting to keep the case open. Why would they do that if they were the killers? Can the CBI and the courts answer at least this one question, even if they can’t answer other more important questions like the motive for the murder?
The real tragedy, however, is that, in their zeal to save face and hide their ineptitude, the UP police and the CBI may have allowed the real killers to get away. Granted there was no evidence or murder weapon, but police work is also common sense and understanding of human behavior, unfortunately, so far the cops have proved woefully deficient in the above departments. It’s time right-minded individuals to stand up for the Talwars before the courts also give credence to the claim that India is a banana republic.
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