Hemraj Banjade’s son-in-law, Jeevan Sharma, spoke exclusively to The Quint on the Allahabad High Court judgment on the Aarushi-Hemraj double murder case. The victim’s family, unhappy with the HC's acquittal of the Talwar couple in the murder case, want to pursue the case in the Supreme Court – but they can only do so if someone comes forward to take their case pro-bono, they said.
We were initially happy that CBI had punished the murderers of Aarushi and Hemraj and that they would be punished for it their whole lives, giving respite to the souls of Aarushi and Hemraj. But again, the court is saying that the doctor is not the murderer and they have been released from jail. Since then, the family has been in a state of shock and mourning. We are poor people who don’t have anyone to turn to, we are not rich. We don’t have a lawyer or the resources to engage a lawyer.Jeevan Sharma, Hemraj’s son-in-law
Hemraj worked as a domestic help at Rajesh and Nupur Talwar’s residence, and was found dead a day after Aarushi was killed in May 2008. Hemraj’s family – a mother, a wife and a son – live in Nepal. His daughter is married to Jeevan who has worked in Noida for a businessman for almost 18 years.
When asked why he thinks the Talwars’ were involved in the murder, he said:
Everybody thinks that there were four people in the house; two died, two were saved. Or else an outsider comes and kills all four and runs away. Nobody thinks that an outsider came and the doctor got saved. The murderer is someone from the house.Jeevan Sharma, Hemraj’s son-in-law
Jeevan rejects the theory of outsiders’ involvement, especially of the three domestic helpers who were friends of Hemraj; Krishna, Rajkumar and Vijay Mandal.
In one flat there will be only one entry. Would the servants have the guts to come from outside and murder two people and leave the other two alive? Hemraj was not a fool that he couldn’t speak up or scream.Jeevan Sharma, Hemraj’s son-in-law
‘Hemraj’s Wife Now Survives on Charity’
Hemraj was the sole breadwinner for his family of four. His family is now living a life of hardship. Hemraj’s wife has been suffering paralysis in her right hand ever since Hemraj’s death. His 18-year-old son is often unwell and too young to earn enough money for the family. On the other hand, Hemraj’s old mother had nowhere to go after she lost her only son, and has taken shelter in an old-age home.
The family’s financial situation is really fragile. There is no money to treat Hemraj’s wife. The sole bread-earner of the family was murdered, how will they manage? The family’s situation is very bad. Sometimes I help them, sometimes my boss does, sometimes the villagers and sometimes their uncle helps them. We’ll have to see what the future holds.Jeevan Sharma, Hemraj’s son-in-law
‘They Are Our Enemies’
According to Jeevan, the Talwars didn’t pay out the last 3-4 months of Hemraj’s salary.
The Talwars have have not even given Hemraj’s pending salary of 3-4 months. They are our enemies.Jeevan Sharma, Hemraj’s son-in-law
Considering their fragile financial situation, Hemraj’s family wants to appeal against the High Court Judgment in the SC but only if a lawyer comes forward to help them free of cost.
We will fight if we get some help from an organisation or if we are able to raise money from somewhere to hire a lawyer to fight the case. The Talwars have also come out after fighting the case. You never know, we might also get relief if we pursue the case.Jeevan Sharma, Hemraj’s son-in-law
Hemraj’s family and the CBI have three months to appeal in the SC against the Allahabad HC judgment from the day it was pronounced. If they fail to do so, it will become yet another classic case of ‘whodunit’.
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