“AARUSHI TALWAR MURDER CASE (2008 NOIDA DOUBLE MURDER CASE)”

Submitted by:

Naveen Kumar Pandey, B.A. L.L.B (Hons.)(1942)

1st Semester

Submitted to:

Mr. Vijyant sinha,

Faculty of Legal Research and Methodology

August,2018

Chanakya National Law University, Patna

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Introduction:

On the morning of May 16, 2008(Mon), Aarushi Talwar (May 24, 1993 - May 15, 2008), 14-year-
old was a Class IX student of Delhi Public School in Noida; daughter of a successful dentist
couple, was found dead with her throat slit in her parents' home at Jalvayu Vihar in
Noida, Uttar Pradesh. Suspicion immediately fell on the family's live-in man-servant, Yam
Prasad Banjade alias Hemraj, a 45-yr-old Nepalese national, who was found missing from the
home. Declaring Hemraj the prime suspect, the Noida police announced a reward of Rs.
20,000 for information leading to Hemraj’s apprehension and arrest. In addition, a police
party was dispatched to his hometown in Nepal, in hopes of apprehending him there.

A post-mortem was conducted on Aarushi's body on May 17, 2008. A retired Noida police officer
K.K. Gautam, accompanying a relative of the Talwars, visited the Talwars' home to express his
condolences, and during his visit, detected blood stains on the stairs leading to the terrace of the
flat. Following the trail of blood, Noida police found the dead body of the missing domestic help,
Hemraj, on the terrace. K.K. Gautam said that he saw some clues in Arushi Talwar’s bedroom.
However, he did not reveal the full extent of what he understood he saw. Police investigations
were on-going and details could not be revealed for fear of hampering the investigation. After a
disorganized investigation, the police arrested Dr. Rajesh Talwar, the father of the deceased girl
(works at Fortis Hospital in Noida) on May 23, 2008, charging him with having committed the
double murder. His wife, Dr. Nupur Talwar (Arushi Talwar’s mother, runs a dental clinic),
accused the Noida police of framing him, and requested Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati
to transfer the case to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The Central Bureau of Investigation took over the investigation into the murders of Aarushi and
Hemraj on June 1, 2008, forming a 25-member team in an attempt to crack the case. Soon after

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the CBI took over the case, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati gave transfer orders to
senior police officers who were part of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that had
previously been in charge of the investigation, including the Noida Senior Superintendent of
Police, Satish Ganesh and Meerut Inspector General, Gurdarshan Singh. In addition, the
deputation of CBI officer Arun Kumar, formerly a member of the Uttar Pradesh Police, who was
in charge of the investigation also ended in July, 2008.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:
The researcher will be relying on the non-doctrinal method of research in order to
finalize the project.

SOURCES OF DATA:
1. Primary source: cases and judgements.
2. Secondary source: newspaper articles, websites and agencies reports.

TENTATIVE CHAPTERISATION:
1. Introduction:

 The Noida double murder case refers to the unsolved murders of 13-year-old
girl Aarushi Talwar and 45-year-old Hemraj Banjade, a live-in domestic worker,
employed by her family in Noida, India. The two were killed on the night of 15–16 May
2008 at Aarushi's home. The case aroused public interest as a whodunit story, and
received heavy media coverage. The sensational media coverage, which included
salacious allegations against Aarushi and the suspects, was criticized by many as a trial
by media.
When Aarushi's body was discovered on 16 May, the missing servant Hemraj was
considered as the main suspect. However, the next day, his partially decomposed body
was discovered on the terrace. The police were heavily criticized for failing to secure
the crime scene immediately. After ruling out the family's ex-servants, the police
considered Aarushi's parents—Dr. Rajesh Talwar and Nupur Talwar—as the prime
suspects.
2. Significance of the case:

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  The case received nation wide attention, and has become symptomatic of what most
people believe are recent unsavoury tendencies in the Indian media, such as
sensationalism , the urge to "overkill" and to carry out a public trial-by-media. The Union
Minister for Women and Child Development, Renuka Chowdhury, condemned the police
for what she called the "character assassination" of a child victim and called for a
commission of legal experts to investigate whether specific legislation existed or needed
to passed in order to allow filing of defamation suits against the Noida police, a
government agency. In addition, the focus by 24-hour cable news on speculative aspects
of the personal lives of the father and his dead daughter, and the media frenzy that
compromised the privacy of the families involved in the case has caused comparisons to
be made to the JonBenet Ramsey case in the United States. The case has also attracted a
lot of public attention as a bizarre whodunit, with the CBI reporting that the agency had
been receiving a large number of telephone calls from members of the general public,
giving investigators ideas and advice on how to solve the case. In addition, the story hit
the blog-o-sphere in a major way with many Indian bloggers avidly and enthusiastically
blogging about the murder mystery.

3. The case:
 On the morning of May 16, 2008, Aarushi Talwar, the 14 year old daughter of
dentist couple, was found dead with her throat slit.
 Suspicion immediately fell upon the family’s live-in-man-servant, Yam Prasad
Banjade alias Hemraj, a 45-yr-old Nepalese national.
 The Noida police announced a reward for information leading to Hemraj’s
apprehension and arrest.
4. Early investigation:
4.1. Discovery of Aarushi’s body
4.2. Hemraj as the suspect
4.3. Discovery of Hemraj’s body
4.4. Evidences gathered

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5. Parents as the suspect
5.1. Parents’ defense
6. Reaction of neighbours, friends and relatives
7. Thadarai, rajkumar and mandal as the suspects
7.1. Defense of Thadarai, Rajkumar and Mandal
8. New CBI team investigation.
8.1. Parents suspected again
8.2. CBI’s closure report
9. The case against talwars
10.1 The court’s verdict.

10. Role of media.

11. Timeline

Bibliography:

Magazines:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Killers-lingered-at-
spot/articleshow/3061142.cms?referral=PM
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/cbi-spells-out-a-case-against-aarushis-parents/4/125298.html

Websites:
https://www.scribd.com/doc/22141335/AARUSHI-MURDER-MYSTERY

http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?270396

http://cbi.gov.in/court%20judgements/2015-10-14-Aarushi.php

https://www.scribd.com/doc/122349634/Aarushi-Crime-Scene-Analysis?

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