Freed after 4 years, Talwars return to Noida complex where Aarushi was killed

Rajesh and Nupur Talwar outside Dasna Jail, after being released. Tashi Tobgyal

FOUR YEARS after they were convicted by a special CBI court in the murder of their daughter Aarushi, and domestic help Hemraj, Rajesh and Nupur Talwar on Monday returned to the same apartment complex where the murders took place. Both were acquitted by the Allahabad High Court on Thursday.

The Talwars were released from Dasna Jail at 5 pm and reached Jal Vayu Vihar in Sector 25, Noida, an hour later. They went to Nupur’s parents’ home. Their old apartment, in the same complex, is occupied by tenants who were not at home on Monday.

While the Allahabad High Court acquitted the dentist couple on Thursday, their release orders were processed and sent to the jail superintendent only on Monday afternoon. Rajesh Talwar’s brother, Dinesh Talwar, and lawyer, Tanveer Ahmed Mir, who arrived at the jail complex, accompanied the couple to Noida.

The surety bond for Rajesh Talwar was filed by father-in-law B G Chitnis and mother-in-law Laita Chitnis at the special CBI court in Ghaziabad. For Nupur Talwar, the bond was filed by brother-in-law Dinesh Talwar and a man named Arun Mittal. Both bonds were of Rs 1 lakh each. The couple came out of jail with three bags and were quickly whisked away.

Mir said they were in tears before they left the jail complex, and thanked him. “Fighting against the CBI and public perception was a Herculean task. When the two were convicted in 2013, they hugged me and cried. I promised them justice. We are glad to have got a clean chit. The case, unfortunately, became tabloid gold. It is now for the clients to decide what they want to do in relation to the case,” he said.

According to jail official, Anand Pandey, the Talwars did not collect remuneration of about Rs 98,000 that they
had earned by treating patients in jail. As they pulled into Jal Vayu Vihar around 6.45 pm, the Talwars looked perturbed by the media presence. Surrounded by a barrage of mediapersons from all four sides, the car moved forward and backward several times to ward off the crowd so that the Talwars could step out.

Once settled into the Chitnis’ flat, the Talwars did not come out again. Fifteen minutes later, a policeman could be seen going up with their two black bags. Visitors too continued to come and go. Around 8 pm, Dinesh Talwar addressed the media: “They have come back today but they’re not in a state where we can claim they are normal. It will also take time for them to register that they’re free and back home. We’re all emotionally drained. Fighting for the truth wasn’t easy.”

“During this time, we just wanted to clear Aarushi’s name… We wanted to say that Aarushi was a good girl and Hemraj wasn’t a bad person… We just want to say that all four of them are not guilty,” he added. Dinesh said the Talwars would need support to come back to the “mainstream” and begin working as professionals again.

Aarushi, 13, was found murdered with her throat slit in her room at the Talwars’ Noida residence on May 16, 2008. Hemraj, 45, who was missing, became a prime suspect, till his body was recovered from the terrace of the house two days later.