Remembering Aarushi: Her Grandfather Rues “Miscarriage of Justice”

On the night of 15 May 2008, Aarushi Talwar was murdered in her bed. She had sustained injuries from a possibly fatal blow to her forehead. Her throat was slit. 14-year-old Aarushi’s body was found by her parents the next morning. Two days later, the prime suspect, Hemraj Banjade, the Talwars’ domestic help, was found dead on the terrace.

On 12 October, the Allahabad High Court delivered its verdict in the case, acquitting the Talwars of murder charges. This interview was first published on 30 August 2015 and is being republished from The Quint’s archives in light of the verdict.

BG Chitnis sits with the demeanour of a dignified man in his Noida flat. The 84-year-old is a former Group Captain in the Indian Air Force and also Aarushi’s maternal grandfather. It’s difficult to ignore the bright, smiling photograph of Aarushi kept in a corner of the hall. In contrast, there is no emotion on his wrinkled face.

Chitnis recently wrote an open letter defending the accused in the Aarushi-Hemraj double murder case – his daughter, Nupur Talwar and his son-in-law, Rajesh Talwar. In the letter, he blamed the UP Police, the CBI and the judiciary for putting the couple behind bars without a shred of evidence.

Seven years after Aarushi’s death, he broke his silence. But, why now?

The UP police had told us to stay away from the media saying that it would impact the investigation. So we obliged. We were aware that we couldn’t counter media’s robust claims so we waited for the right time.
— Gp Capt BG Chitnis (Retd)

The “right time” came after Avirook Sen’s book, Aarushi, and the movie, Talvar. By this time, the discourse had changed as there were more voices speaking in favour of the parents’ innocence.

But there’s more than one reason why he chose to speak up.

Believe me, if you ask me to write that letter now, I won’t be able to. Last week, after watching the movie and meeting Nupur and Rajesh in the jail, I was overcome with a sudden surge of emotions. I came home and decided to write an open letter and vent out all that I was feeling.
— Gp Capt BG Chitnis (Retd)

He said that the nation’s institutions – the police, the CBI and the judiciary – have let him down.

The UP police has let me down. Under media pressure, they worked in a hurry to save their reputation and to impress their bosses. CBI had found Rajesh Talwar innocent. But after the team changed, they went back on that and raised a finger of suspicion at Rajesh instead.
— Gp Capt BG Chitnis (Retd)

In its closure report, the CBI said, “Only the parents could have killed Aarushi.” On November 25, 2013, a special CBI court in Ghaziabad found Rajesh and Nupur Talwar guilty of murdering Aarushi and Hemraj.

Judge Shyam Lal, who is known as Sazza Lal in the circles for giving maximum convictions, he didn’t allow our witnesses, overlooked crucial evidences. Rajesh and Nupur are innocent, but they were put behind bars without a shred of evidence.
— Gp Capt BG Chitnis (Retd)

Chitnis always thought highly of these institutions. “My faith in all the institutions has been shattered after what I experienced,” he said.

The man who once served the country now wonders what has become of it.

Camera: Sanjoy Deb
Video Editor: Hitesh Singh