‘He hugged me, burst into tears’: Rajesh and Nupur Talwar break down in jail after acquittal in Aarushi-Hemraj murder case

Rajesh Talwar did not hold back his tears. Nor did his wife, Nupur.

As the Allahabad High Court pronounced its verdict in the Aarushi-Hemraj murder case at 2:45pm on Thursday, the dentist couple broke down in their cells at the Dasna Jail, officials told Hindustan Times.

“When we went to Dr Rajesh (Talwar), he hugged me and burst into tears. He said that justice has been delivered,” said DR Maurya, superintendent of Dasna Jail, who broke the news to the couple.

“Dr Nupur remained silent but she was also in tears,” he added.

The Talwars were awarded life sentence by a special CBI court in Ghaziabad on November 26, 2013, a day after their conviction in the murder of their only daughter Aarushi (14) and their domestic help Hemraj in 2008.

The couple had challenged the lower court verdict.

Jail officials said the couple were praying in their respective barracks before the judgment.

Nupur Talwar, assigned inmate number 9343/13, was reading a religious book since 2pm when the judgment was first scheduled. Later, the judgment rescheduled at 2:45pm.

The couple are, however, likely to be released on Friday after the judgment documents are delivered to the jail administration.

In the morning, Rajesh attended to an inmate at the jail hospital which the couple — both dentists — had revived.

Since the time the dentist couple were confined to Dasna Jail, Rajesh Talwar has not stepped out of jail, though Nupur had gone out four times after she was granted “short term” bail to tend to her ailing parents.

Jail officials said that the Talwars were anxious since Wednesday but had normal food for dinner, breakfast on Thursday and even had their normal jail lunch — dal, chapati, rice, vegetable, daliya and tea.

“Dinesh, Rajesh’s brother, had come to visit them around 5-6 days ago. On the day of the judgment, no family members or relatives arrived. We have come to know of the judgment only through news reports and are awaiting the official delivery of the order copy,” Maurya added.

During the past four years, the Talwars have taken up the responsibility of treating prisoners, teaching children inside the jail complex.

“It is because of them that our dental department, once shut, has started functioning. Dr Nupur also teaches children of inmates. Both have been popular among inmates due to their cordial behaviour,” said Anand Pandey, pharmacist at the jail hospital.

“They have been spending their free time reading literature, English novels, medical journals and also books on international history and economics,” Pandey added.