Casefile True Crime - Case 253: Aarushi Talwar & Hemraj Banjade

Episode Date: July 1, 2023

*** Content warning: child victim, sexual assault *** When Rajesh and Nupur Talwar went to wake their 13-year-old daughter Aarushi on the morning of Friday, May 16 2008, the couple were shocked to find her brutally murdered in her bed. --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Erin Munro Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn Sign up for Casefile Premium: Apple Premium Spotify Premium Patreon For all credits and sources, please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-253-aarushi-talwar-hemraj-banjade

El museo Picasso Málaga presenta Picasso es cultor, al igual que en el resto de su creación, la escultura de Picasso se distingue por innovar en el uso de técnicas y materiales pocortodoxos. Puedes imaginar cuál es y cómo, descubrela. Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at any time you need support, please contact your local crisis center. For suggested phone numbers for confidential support and for a more detailed list of content warnings, please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website. Bharti Mandal had only worked for the Talwah family for a week, but had already settled into

a rhythm. The 35-year-old housemate had recently relocated to the Indian capital of Delhi in search of work. She was soon hired to clean the home of Rajesh and Newport Talwah, a husband and wife who lived in the south of Delhi suburb of Noida. Rajesh and Newport were both the dentists with busy schedules and needed someone to cover for their usual maid who was on leave. They lived in an enormous 1,886 apartment complex that was home to almost 10,000 people. Barty would visit their three bedroom home twice a day to dust, clean the floors, and

wash the dishes. The Talwhas also employed a live-in servant named Hemraj Benjade. Every morning and evening he would lap Barty into the home after she rang the doorbell installed by an exterior mesh security door. At 6am on Friday, May 16, 2008, Bati arrived for her first shift of the day. She rang the doorbell as usual, but Hemraj didn't appear. Bati rang the bell a second time, and when she was again met with no response, she figured Hemraj was just

taking his time. She walked up a set of stairs where the family's bucket and mop was kept and carried them back to the front door. Still, there was no sign of Hemraj. Bati rang the doorbell for a third time and appeared down the hallway inside. There was a second mesh door at the end of the hall. Immediately behind it, in the same frame, was a wooden door that opened to the apartment. The wooden door finally opened, and Barty was surprised to see a woman standing there

instead of hemrosh. It was Newport Talwa, one of Bharti's employers. Newport asked Bharti where Hamraj was, and Bharti said she didn't know. Newport said he had probably gone out to buy milk and must have locked the security door behind him. There were two sets of keys to the Talwar's apartment. Hemraj had one, and the couple had the other. Bati asked Nupor if she could throw down her keys from the balcony. Nupor agreed. Bati walked downstairs to stand beneath the balcony.

When Nupor appeared, she mentioned that the door might not be locked after all. But he asked her to throw down the keys anyway, and Newport did so. Keys in hand, but he headed back upstairs to the apartment. This time she pushed to the exterior mesh door and it swung open. But he walked down the hall to the second mesh door, which was latched from the outside. She unbolted the latch and entered the apartment through the wooden door, which Nupor had left open. Inside, Bati was met with chaos.

She could hear Nupor Talwar and her husband Rajesh shouting and crying. Nupor reappeared and threw her arms around Bati, still weeping loudly. When Bati asked why she was crying, Nupor replied, go inside and see what has happened. She led Bati to the bedroom of the couple's only child, a 13-year-old daughter named Rishi. Standing in the doorway of Rishi's room, party saw the girl lying in bed. Her body was partly covered with a white flannel blanket, and her throat had been slid. After Newport, Talwa had answered the doorbell, she'd picked up the family's landline phone and dialed Ham Raj's mobile to see where he was. Her call was answered, but the person on the other end said nothing.

After a few seconds, they hung up. At the same time, Rajesh Talwar was getting out of bed. When he walked into the family's living room, he immediately noticed the bottle of Valentine's Scotch whiskey sitting on the dining table. It was two thirds empty. Neither he nor his wife had been drinking the night before, and the bottle hadn't been there when they went to bed at 11.30. Most troubling of all, there were several bloody fingerprints smeared across it.

Rajesh pointed out the bottle to Newport, then the two of them went to check on their daughter. Aruchi always slept with her door closed and locked from the inside, but that morning, the door was slightly open. When her parents walked in, they immediately noticed the walls were spattered with blood. A Rushi lay on her bed, covered with a white flannel blanket. Her head was partially concealed by a camo tote bag she owned. The pillow under her head was bloodsoaked, and the blood had dripped onto her mattress and the floor below.

Newport lifted the blanket, and both parents saw a large card across their daughter's throat. Aruxie's head hung to one side, her skull crashed just above her left eye. Strangely, there was no blood on the blanket and bag covering a Rushi. Nor was there any on her stuffed toys that surrounded her, including a bunny rabbit on the bed's headboard and a large Bart Simpson doll on the mattress. It was as though these items had all been placed there after the attack. Rajesh tried to straighten his daughter's head, though it was clear she was deceased. Then he started pacing back and forth to and from Arushi's bedroom.

One moment he would sit on the bed beside his child, the next he stood and started hitting his head against the wall. Nupor appeared to be in a state of shock. When Barty returned to the apartment to start cleaning, a crying Nupor led her to Areshi's room. Barty stood stunned as she took in the violent scene. Finally, she managed to ask the Talwhas if she should tell the building security guards. They said yes, and Barthie hurried off. Meanwhile, the Talwhas began calling their closest to loved ones, all of whom lived in

the same large complex. These included Newport's parents, Rajesh's brother and his wife, and their friends, the Dharani's, a married couple who were also dentists. Soon, all were gathered at the Taoa's apartment. Word spread throughout the tight-knit community, and the four couples were eventually joined by neighbors, curious passes by, and to members of the media. About an hour after Aruxis' body was discovered, the first police officers arrived. They made no attempts to cordon off the crime scene as people wandered through the apartment, examining every room.

A portion of Arujishis mattress was cut out and taken off for forensic testing, along with her blood stained sheets, pillow, and clothing. There was no blood in any other part of the home, except for five bloody fingerprints on the bottle of whiskey on the dining room table. It appeared that nothing had been stolen from the Talwa's home. Then, two friends of Rajesh Talwa noticed what looked like a blood on a set of stairs that led to the rooftop terrace. The door to the terrace was closed and locked. On close inspection, the lock seemed to have blood on it too. The men pointed this out to the police.

Rajesh said he didn't know where the keys to the door were, as their servant, Hamraj, was responsible for locking it. He and his wife, Newport, kept begging the police repeatedly to, find Hamraj. There was no sign of Hamraj Banjade in the adjoining servants quarters where he lived. These quarters were accessible from the main apartment or via a sight door in the hallway where the security doors were located. In the kitchen was an un-eaten plate of food that he'd fixed himself for dinner the night before.

His mobile phone was missing and it looked like his bed hadn't been slapped in. The talwhars tried calling his phone again, but it now appeared to be switched off. Rajesh and Newport talwhwar were convinced that he had killed their daughter. The fact that he'd vanished without a trace and hung up on Newport when she phoned earlier, pointed to his guilt. 45-year-old Hemraj was originally from a village in Nepal and had moved to India to find work. As a planned suburb of Delhi, Noida had far more job opportunities. Hemraj sent the money he made to his family back in Nepal. He'd been employed by the Talwhas for about eight months and it was fairly standard for

middle-class professionals in urban parts of India to hire domestic servants. Hemraj did the Talwaz grocery shopping, prepared their meals, and was responsible for receiving visitors and other employees to the home. The Talwaz had never had any problems with him at all, until now. Certain he had fled back to Nepal after murdering Arushi, the Talwaz offered the police money to pursue him across the border. The previous night had been normal.

Newport and Arushi had arrived home between 6 and 7 pm. Rajesh had to work late, so was taken home by his driver at about 9. The driver had gone up to the apartment to drop off the keys after parking the car in the garage and saw Newport, Arushi and Hamraj getting ready for dinner. At 9.30, the family sat down to eat the meal that Hamraj had prepared. Rajesh and Newport had a surprise for Arujshi. In nine days' time on May 24, she would be turning 14. Her father had ordered a Sony digital camera as a gift for her and it had arrived that day. Nupor persuaded Rajesh that they should give Arujshushi the camera that night as an early birthday surprise.

Arushi's birthday party was being held in three days time and this way she could take photos of the occasion. Her parents presented her with the camera at about 10 o'clock. Arushi was so excited that she immediately started taking pictures of herself and her parents. At around 11, Aruchi went to her room. Her parents also went to their room where Rajesh sent some emails. The internet connection was slow, so he asked Nupor to switch the router off and on again. Nupor went next door to Aruxie's room, where the router was kept, and saw her daughter

sitting up in bed reading a book. Nupor went to bed shortly after this, while Rajesh stayed up using the internet until just after midnight. Neither of them had heard any disturbance during the night. Newport told investigators that she couldn't remember if she had closed Aruxie's bedroom door after going in to reboot the router. Normally she would, and the door would automatically lock behind her. Aruxie could open the door from the inside,

or it could be unlocked from the outside with a set of keys new poor caps on her bedside table. But that morning, the keys were found in the drawing room. Later that day, Aru she's body was autopsy. It was estimated that she had been killed between midnight and 1am. There were no signs of a sexual assault. As well as a 14cm wound to her throat, there were several smaller cuts on her face. These injuries were all sustained after she was

struck in the head with some sort of weapon that left a U or V-shaped scar. It was this first injury that killed her. A brutal attack like this in a quiet middle-class neighborhood was shocking and news of Arushi's murder made headlines across the country. A police spokesperson talked on camera with the media, naming the family's domestic servant as their prime suspect and adding that he was now on the run, quote, �He�s close relatives have been taken into custody and soon we will arrest him. It was believed Hemraj had decided to molest Arushi after consuming some whiskey. When she resisted, Hemraj killed her in a violent rage.

The police spokesperson asked for the press's help in sharing Hemraj's details so he could be arrested as soon as possible. Photographs of both Arushi and Hemraj were given to the media and broadcast on news programs that same day. A reward of 20,000 rupees was offered for information that led to Hamraj's capture. Meanwhile, the Talwhas were preparing to fare well their daughter. In Hindu tradition, it is generally believed that a loved one's body must be cremated within 24 hours of their death. Having gained the pathologist's reassurances that Arujshis autopsy was complete and nothing further was needed, her parents made the necessary arrangements. That evening, Aruxie's loved ones gathered at the Talwa residence to pay their final respects to her before she was cremated.

The apartment was packed with people, and still nothing had been caught and off. Upon seeing his daughter's school friends, Rajesh Talwa burst into tears. He cried out, look at what they've done to your friend. Aruxie's loved ones gathered around her small slender body, which was wrapped up in a white cloth as part of the pre-cremation ritual. Only her face was exposed. She looked pale but peaceful. Friends remembered Aruxie as a fun-loving girl who was often the center of attention at social events, but someone who was very shy at the same time.

It always took her a little while to feel comfortable opening up to others, though she had a playful sense of humour and liked to tease her parents. Arushi was a serious student who always ranked in the top three of her class. She also loved attending parties and going on holidays and had particularly enjoyed a trip she'd taken to Singapore and Malaysia the year prior. She had been happiest when surrounded by her family and friends. Just four days before she was murdered, Aruchi had given Newport a card for Mother's Day that read in part. Mum, you are the best.

After all, you are the one who will always be there for me. The following morning, Rajesh and Newport Talwar left with Arujishis ashes for the city of Haradwar, located about 217 kilometers northeast of Noido. Haradwar is a Hindu pilgrimage site and is where the river Ganges exits the foothills of the Himalayas. The river is seen as a gateway to heaven following death. It is believed that scattering a loved one's ashes in the Ganges will help them rest in peace. Meanwhile, KK Gautam, a retired deputy superintendent of Noida Police, who was something of a

local celebrity, headed over to the couple's apartment to offer his condolences. Relatives of the Talwhars had cleaned the residence the previous evening while police milled about. Gautam was met by Rajesh's brother, Dinash, who complained to him that the lock to the terrorists still hadn't been opened. The Talwhars had given permission for the lock to be broken the day before, but investigators had been unable to find a locksmith.

Looking at the staircase that led to the terrace, Gautam saw what looked like spots of blood. He immediately wondered if Aruxie's killer had escaped via the rooftop, or hidden the murder weapon up there. Gautam called the superintendent of Noida Police and demanded to know how officers had missed seeing the blood stains the day prior. The superintendent rushed to the apartment with a senior officer, and the terrace door's lock was broken. Gautam and Dinesh Talwa headed out to the terrace along with the superintendent.

They immediately saw that the cement was stained with an enormous pool of blood. Further away were some bloody drag marks that led to a corner of the rooftop. A panel from an air cooler had been torn off and clumsily placed on top of something that was slumped in the corner. It was a human body, clearly deceased and badly decomposed due to India's hot summer sun. El cuerpo ha aparecido para la gente en un medio de la gente. El caso va a ser bien. Gracias por suciencia por escuchar a estos episodios. El museo Picasso malaga presenta Picasso es cultor, al igual que en el resto de su creación, la escultura de Picasso se distingue por innovar en el uso de técnicas y materiales poco ortodoxos.

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Denesh Tellwile called his brother to tell him another body had been found at his residence. Rajesh and Nupor hurried home still carrying Arushi's ashes. Rajesh was asked if he could identify the body, but the men's face was too swollen and disfigured to recognize. However, Rajesh thought the shirt he was wearing looked familiar, as did his hair. After checking with his wife, Rajesh said he was fairly sure the body was that of their servant, Hamraj Benjade. The number one suspect in the case had turned out to be a second victim. Like Arushi, Hamraj had been killed with a weapon that left a U or V-shaped scar.

His wound was to the back of the head, then his throat had been slashed. It was estimated that both victims had been killed between 12 and 1am. It turned out that the blood on the bottle of whiskey belonged to both Hamraj and Aruchi, indicating the killer touched the bottle after the murders. However, no identifiable prince could be collected from the marks left. On the terrace was a bloody footprint made by a size 8 or 9 shoe. This hadn't belonged to Hamraj as he was found wearing his slippers. Also on a terrorist war, was a large bloody handprint made with Hamraj's blood.

Multiple reporters and others who were permitted to wonder about the crime scene touched it before it could be forensically examined. Therefore, the police subsequently decided that checking it for DNA or prints was useless. For unknown reasons, the air cooler panel that had been placed on Hemranger's body was never examined either. With their prime suspect ruled out of the case, investigators had to start from scratch. Technology used by the family seemed to confirm the timeline the tell was had provided. The photos on Aruxie's new digital camera

showed a happy family enjoying their evening together at around 10 p.m. The last photo was a shot of Aruxie smiling shyly. It appeared to be a selfie she had taken in her bedroom. Based on the numbering of the photographs, however, police realized that some shots prior to the last one had been deleted. They thought this was suspicious, but the Tao Wars said it was due to our Areshi deleting pictures she didn't like. Computer and Internet records confirmed Rajashtawwa had been active online until around 12 a.m.

Hemraj Benjadi's phone was missing, but records showed the last call he'd received that night had been just before 830. Whoever called rang from a payphone about 1 kilometer away and had chatted with Hamraj for around 6 minutes. The next calls the phone received were the ones from Newport the following morning. The phone pinged off a cell tower in the vicinity, indicating that whoever had the phone was still in the large apartment complex. When Aruxie's body was discovered by her parents, her black Nokia N72 mobile phone was noticeably absent from its usual spot on her bedside table.

Investigators had been unable to find the missing device, but they could access its records. Usually Aruxie stayed up until after midnight texting her friends, but on Thursday, May 15, her phone had been switched off at 9.10 pm. This was highly unusual. Her parents said that she had complained about the phone not working properly and they discussed getting her a new one.

Pouring over the records, police saw that from the start of April until her death in mid-May, there had been 688 text messages and calls between Aruxie's phone and another number. That number belonged to a 15-year-old school friend of Aruche's named Unmoul. He was known to have a crush on Aruche and was said to be her boyfriend. Amongst Aruche and her friends, having a boyfriend was a term to describe a special friendship with a boy. There would be a mutual attraction between them and they'd talk a lot on the phone and at school, but it didn't imply any physical intimacy.

Unmol was the last person who tried to contact Arushi on the night she was killed. At about midnight, he tried calling her mobile, then the family's landline. Neither call was answered. Roughly half an hour later, he sent Arushi a text, because her phone was switched off, this message didn't go through. Police decided to question Unmoul to see what he knew. A week after the murders, police picked up Unmoul and took him to the station for questioning. His parents weren't present for this and nor were they asked for their permission. Investigators grilled Unmoul about his relationship with Arushi. Unmoul said that he and Arushi

had a disagreement on the nighting question, which was why she'd turned off her phone so early. It wasn't because she was having issues with the device as she'd told her parents. According to OneMole, Arushi had also complained about her father, who she said had become stricter over the past two weeks. Under intense interrogation, OneMole added that he wasn't the only boy Arushi was in contact with. She'd been a pretty and popular girl who'd had lots of boyfriends. When the police asked if Arushi had been, quote, easy with who she liked, Unmull agreed that she was.

That same day, police called the tellwars and asked them to come down to the station, supposedly to identify a suspect. The couple got into their car and sailed a police vehicle to the destination. They in turn were followed by multiple television news crews. All of a sudden, the Talwhars turned around and abruptly headed back home, without ever making it to the police station. The following day was Friday, May 23, exactly one week after Aruchi Talwha and Hemraj Benjadi were murdered. Investigators went to the Talwhas home and again asked Rajesh and Nupor to accompany them to the station. The couple agreed.

Once at the station, they were taken into separate rooms. New evidence had come to light that had taken the case in a new direction. Investigators said it was related to a woman named Dr Anita Dharani. Dr Dharani and her husband were close with the Taowars. Like the Taowars, they were both dentists and the two couples worked in the same clinic. Their daughter had also been one of Arujee's best friends. The police said they had intel that Rajesh Tawar had been having an affair with Anita Dharani. During Anmol's interrogation the previous day, he had supposedly said that Arushi knew

about the affair and was unhappy about it. A social worker who had known Amrash had also told the police that five days before he was murdered, Amrache said he was in danger and so were his loved ones. Based on these claims, Gurdashan Singh, the Inspector General of Noida Police, had a theory. He believed that 13-year-old Arushi had been so devastated by her father's affair that she decided to embark on an elicit relationship of her own, with Hamraj, her family's 45-year-old servant.

Late on the night of Thursday, May 15, Rajesh went to Aru she's room and found Hamraj in there with her. Inspector General Singh would later say the pair had been in, quote, an objectionable, but not compromising position. Enraged, Rajesh Tawar took him Raj up to the terrace and brutally slaughtered him. Then he went back downstairs and drank some whiskey before making his way to Areshi's room. While his daughter lay in bed, Rajesh murdered her in an honour killing, a crime in which a family member is killed to supposedly protect their family's honour.

Such killings have been reported from the northern parts of India, which was where Rajesh was originally from. Rajesh was confronted with video footage that seemingly bolstered the police theory. It showed him and Newport the previous day, suddenly turning around when they were supposed to be going to the police station. Investigators said this was evidence they had tried to flee. Rajesh explained that the reason they had turned around was because the police had called and told them not to come down after all. He denied having an affair or ever doing anything to harm his child. After getting married, the Tawas had tried to have children for five years without success

and had finally used IVF to conceive Aru She. She was their only child and a much loved daughter. Nevertheless, Rajesh was informed that he was suspected of committing the double homicide and placed under arrest. A press conference was held to update the media and the public on this twist in the investigation. The case was receiving an exceptional amount of media attention. This was partly due to the fact that high-profile middle-class professionals such as the Tauwars weren't usually seen as victims of crime.

Inspector General Goudashin Singh told the assembled press how they believed the murders weren't usually seen as victims of crime. Inspector General Goudashin Singh told the assembled press how they believed the murders had played out. According to him, the weapons used were a hammer and a surgical scalpel, though neither of these items had been recovered. Singh seemingly forgot Arujee's name during the press conference and repeatedly referred to her as Shruti. He also detailed her supposed affair with Hamraj and said that the 13-year-old had been,

quote, "'characterless,' a slur indicating that she was promiscuous." After this briefing, news coverage of the murders went into overdrive. Solacious stories about the Talwhas were splashed across tabloids all over the country. TV programs aired reconstructions of how the murders were thought to have gone down. To many, Rajesh being the culprit made sense. Arujsh's bedroom was right next to her parents' room, with their beds between seven and eight feet apart.

If an intruder had killed Arujesh, then why hadn't her parents heard anything? Some reporters believed Rajesh hadn't seemed emotional enough in the wake of his daughter's murder and organized her cremation too quickly. Rajesh's initial insistence that Hemraj was the culprit was deemed suspicious, as was his claim that he didn't have a key to his own terrace where Hemraj was later found. Perhaps he had planned to dump Hemraj's body somewhere but never had an opportunity

because of the constant police and media presence. Rajesh insisted that he was being framed. While some who were close to him offered their support, others turned against him. Although he and Newport retained the dental clinic they owned, Rajesh was fired from a position he held at a hospital. A few days later, police seized Rajesh's laptop and the hard drive from Aruxee's computer. They wasted no time in leaking Aruxee's emails,

social media interactions and WhatsApp messages to journalists. Select portions of Aruche's messages were printed and shared by India's media. Emails she'd sent to France were said to confirm her promiscuous tendencies, as they referred to boys and contained objectionable words. There was also one email to her father in which she apologized for having gone out with friends without apparent shepherding them. This was seen as evidence of the father and daughters' fraught relationship, even though the email had a lighthearted tone. Newport Talwa felt the need to speak up in her family's defense, despite police recommending

she avoid the media. On Sunday, May 25, Newport gave a one-on-one television interview with the English news station and DTV. Looking exhausted but composed, Newport said the Talwa's were like any other household, and there was no way her husband could be responsible for the murders. She told the interviewer, I was living in that house, I was sleeping next to Rajesh that night.

It's not even possible. When asked what she believed had really happened, New Poor said she had no idea. When she had discovered her daughter's body that morning, she immediately thought Hemraj had done it. After realizing he was murdered too, she suspected the culprit was someone who had some kind of hostility with Hemraj. Newport's composed demeanor had the opposite effect that she had hoped for. Instead of seeing a devastated mother, many in law enforcement, the media and the community

saw a cold and calculated woman. But others were siding with the Taoise. Aruxie's classmates organized a protest march in defense of their friends' reputation. India's Minister for Women and Child Development expressed her concern that the Noida police had slandered a murdered girl. She also accused them of blatantly ignoring the nation's press council regulations. The police's inflammatory statements prompted the then chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, the state when Noida was located, to suggest the case be handed over to the central bureau of investigation, or CBI.

The CBI is India's national investigative agency and was originally created to investigate government corruption. Eventually, its jurisdiction was expanded to include murders, kidnapping, and terrorist activities. In 1987, a special crimes branch was launched, which led to the agency investigating many high-profile offences. Two weeks after the murder of Aruj Shitalwa and Hemraj Benjadi, Noida police inspectors General was demoted and the CBI took over the investigation.

Although Rajesh Talwa remained in police custody, the new investigative team began looking at the case through fresh eyes. It seemed to them that noida police had overlooked some potentially crucial clues. Three glasses were recovered from Hamraj's quarters the morning after the murders. Two had remnants of alcohol in them. Also in the room were three bottles which respectively contained wine, beer and sprite. It appeared as though Hamraj had some guests over the night before. Depression in his made up bed indicated up to three people might have sat on it. It also looked like the servant's toilet had been used by more than one person. For some reason, all of this had been ignored or overlooked by the Noida

police. Scouring the case file, the CBI's lead investigator noticed something else. A 22-year-old man named Krishna Tatarai had been held by the Noida police for 10 days during the course of their investigation. It turned out that Krishna was another employee of the Taowars. He worked at their dental clinic while also completing his studies. Krishna also lived in the same complex, with just a few apartments between his residents and the Taowars. He knew Hamraj well, and like Hamraj, he was originally from Nepal. The case filed documented what Krishna had told police during his time in custody.

To the CBI's surprise, it seemed that he was the one who had informed them of Rajesh Talwhas alleged a fair with the Nita Dharani. Krishna said that when Newport was working at another clinic every Tuesday and Saturday, Rajesh and Nita would close up early and give Krishna the afternoon off. Although he had never actually seen them together, he said that Hemraj had told him about it. It was also Krishna who claimed Arushi had been devastated after discovering the affair and sought comfort from Hamraj. According to Rajesh Tawar, he had reprimanded Krishna two days before the murders after

Krishna made an incorrect dental cast. This dressing-down had taken place in front of other employees, including Anita Derani. Rajesh's driver had supposedly later heard Krishna say to Hamraj that he was going to deal with Rajesh. Realising that the police's original theory had originated from this alone witness, the CBI knew they would need to interview him again. On Thursday, June 12, Krishna Tatarai was taken into custody. While being interrogated by the CBI, he confessed that he had been in the Tawaih's apartment on the night of the murders. Krishna was hanging out with Hemraj and two other domestic workers from Nepal.

Rajkumar and Vijay Mandal Rajkumar was a little younger than Krishna and worked for the Tao Wars good friends at the Dharani's. People who knew him said he was likable and easygoing. Vijay Mandar was also in his early 20s and lived in the garage below the Tawar's residence. As a child, he had been physically abused by his parents and had anger issues as a result. Consequently, he struggled to find work

but had been a driver in the Noida area. Late on the night of Thursday, May 16, the four men were drinking beer together in Ham Raj's quarters. Krishna told the other three how he had been humiliated at work by Rajesh Tawar and wanted revenge. Hurting Aru Shii would be the most obvious way to hurt Rajesh. Krishna and Rajkumar headed to Aru Shii's room. The door was unlocked that night. They entered and Rajkumar began trying to sexually assault the 13-year-old. She fought back, prompting Krishna to pull out a curved, Nepalese knife known as a kukri, and kill her. They knew Hemraj would now be a danger

to them. He had been very fond of Arushi and hadn't wanted anything to happen to her. The two men took Hemraj up to the terrace where they killed him to cover up their crime. Krishna would go on to amend his story, but the essential facts remained the same. In his second version, he said it had actually been Raj Kumar and Vijay Mundal who had gone into Arujsh's room and both intended to rape her. She had resisted, so Vijay Mandal who had gone into Aarushi's room and both intended to rape her. She had resisted, so Vijay had hit her in the head before Raj Kumar cut her throat with the kukri.

They wiped off the kukri with a tissue which was then flushed down the toilet in Aarushi's ensuite. The two men and Krishna had then taken Hamraj up to the terrace, locking its door behind them, and murdered Hamraj to ensure his silence. Krishna later reverted to his original admission that he had gone to Areshi's room and cut her throat. Hamraj was murdered after threatening to tell the Talwhas. The three culprits had wanted to kill the Tauwars as well, but gave up after finding their

bedroom door locked. On Wednesday, June 18, Krishnas apartment was searched. It turned out that his rooftop terrace could be reached from the Tauwars. All of the terraces in the block were connected and it was possible to walk across one to the other. While searching Krishna's apartment, CBI agents found a kukri that had small spots of blood on it. They also recovered a pair of trousers and a pillowcase stained with blood. Over the following weeks, Rajkumar and Vijay Mandel were interrogated as well. Both admitted that they had been with Hemraj on the night of the murders and told variations

of the same story Krishna had shared. There were some key differences though. Vijay said a fight had broken out between Hemraj and a drunken Krishna right before Areshi was killed. Raj Kumar was more resistant to confessing and said he hadn't committed the murders. He pointed the finger at Krishna instead. The men said they had destroyed Areshi and Hamraj's mobile phones. All three were arrested for the double homicide and Rajesh Talwar was released from jail. By this time, he had spent 50 days behind bars.

Despite having obtained three confessions to the crime, the CBI was left with a major problem. All of the confessions had been made under what is known in India as the Naka Analysis Test. This test involves the subject being injected with sodium pentathol, which some refer to as truth serum. This drug renders the suspect sedated in a trans-like state. It's believed that in such a state, their imagination is neutralised and therefore they are only capable of telling the truth. They also exhibit no resistance to being questioned. Law enforcement agencies in India have been permitted to use Narcoanalysis as an investigative

tool, similar to a polygraph test. But like a polygraph, results of Narcoanalysis are not permitted as evidence in a court of law. This is because the altered state of consciousness experienced by the suspect renders them more susceptible to influence and incapable of judging the consequences of what they're saying. The science behind NARCO analysis is dubious, and the results from such tests are often inconsistent. Investigators had filmed the suspects being interrogated while under NARCO analysis,

and these videos were later leaked to the press. They showed the man barely conscious and mumbling answers to questions that were often leading. Krishna's supposed motive of wanting revenge against his employer after being told off at work also seemed weak compared to the brutality of the crimes. His family said that Krishna had been forced to undergo Nakao Analysis against his will, and was also beaten by investigators. They believed he was the victim of anti-Nepalee's prejudice. All three men also claimed to have alibis for the night of the murders. Krishna's family, Antelante Lord, said he'd been at home.

Vijay Mundal's employer said the same for him. Anita Durani, who was Raj Kumar's employer and the target of the original Noida Police investigation, could vouch for Raj Kumar also being at home until at least 12.30am. He might have snuck out after everyone went to bed, but it would take him at least 20 minutes to reach the Tauwa's residence, and that didn't fit with the investigation's timeline. CBI agents hoped they would find something tangible that tied the trio to the double homicide, such as fingerprints or DNA from the crime scene. But nothing emerged. Testing of the blood on the cuckrey found in Krishna's home revealed that it wasn't human,

though it couldn't be determined what kind of animal it came from either. The blade also seemed too blunt to have resulted in the cuts to the victim's throats. In any case, it no longer seemed that the CBI had found one of the murder weapons. During early September, all three suspects were released from custody due to a lack of evidence. en la vida de la vida. El caso va a ser bien. Gracias por suciencia por escuchar a estos esponzos. El museo Picasso Málaga presenta Picasso es cultor, al igual que en el resto de su creación, la escultura de Picasso se distingue por innovar en el uso de técnicas y materiales poco ortodoxos. Puedes imaginar cuáles y cómo, descubrela. Pero MailChimp, no. MailChimp analiza los datos de millones de correos electrónicos para ofrecer recomendaciones personalizadas. Para mejorar el contenido de tus correos electrónicos, segmentar tu público, entre muchas cosas más, adivina menos y vende más con IntuitimailChimp.

La marca número 1 en email marketing y automatización. Empieza hoy mismo en MailChimp.com. Vas a venderte a tus públicos de marcas competidoras en número globales de clientes en 2021-2022. Thank you for listening to this episode's ads. By supporting our sponsors, you support CaseFile to continue to deliver quality content. After the release of the three Nepali suspects, the case faltered. Sensationalist stories still ran in the media, but from an investigative point of view, it had reached a standstill. Then one year later, in September 2009, there was a breakthrough. Areshi Talwaz, Black Nokia and 72 Phone, was traced to a house in the city of Bollenshahir, located 60 km east of Delhi.

A man by the name of Ram Bull was using the device with a new SIM card. When police spoke to Ram, he said his sister had found the phone in May of the previous year. She worked as a maid close to where the tellwars had lived. A few days after the Noida murders, she spotted the phone on a dirt track a few kilometres away. She pocketed the device and gifted it to her brother, but he hadn't started using it until the following year after purchasing a new SIM card. Neither of them had any idea that it had belonged to the murdered teenager. Police were able to verify the sibling stories and ruled them out as suspects. An examination of Areshi's phone found no photos, text messages, or data.

But the discovery of the Nokia alone seemed to disprove the CBI's theory that Hamrash's three acquaintances committed the murders. All three men had said both phones were destroyed. Now there was evidence indicating their admissions were unreliable. This development seemed to result in a shake-up at the CBI. That same month in September 2009, the case's lead investigator was removed, with the agency citing that his tenure had simply ended. Then the investigation into the murders of Areshi Talwar and Hemraj Bancardi was handed

over to a new team. Right away, the second CBI team took a very different approach to their predecessors. The new investigators focused first on Areshi's autopsy report. Dr. Sunil Dohare had completed the post-mortem and found no evidence of a sexual assault or injury, stating that there was nothing abnormal about Areshi's genitalia. Swabs taken from her vagina had no trace of semen. In October 2008, Dr. Dohaere had given a second statement to the original CBIT. This time, he added a line that read, During post-mortem examination, I observed that the vaginal cavity of the deceased was

dilated. This sentence caught the attention of the second CBI team. Dr. Dohaere was asked to provide them with another statement, which would be his third. This time he went into greater detail, writing, On external examination the vaginal opening was found prominently wide open. Vaginal cavity and cervix was clearly visible. Hyman was ruptured and healed. Old. The doctor's observations seemed to imply that Arushi had likely been engaged in sexual intercourse

around the time of her murder. Later, he would more explicitly say that he thought her vagina had been washed to remove any evidence of such activity. His reference to her hymen was an illusion to her having lost her virginity well before the attack, despite the fact that a hymen can be ruptured in other ways and is no indication of sexual experience. Dr Dohares said he hadn't bothered to mention these details in his original report because the findings were, quote, non-specific and a very strange. He had also never completed an autopsy on a female body before,

so he didn't realize such things should have been recorded. The doctor who completed hemorrhages or topsy was also caught upon again. Speaking to the new lead investigator, he noted that the cut to hemorrhages throat was consistent with a very sharp edge to light instrument. When asked about the significance of hemorrhage and arrachies matching neck wounds, the doctor added. The identical position of the injury and the skill with which the cut was made clearly point towards a surgically trained person.

Investigators concluded that a scalpel had most likely been used to slash the victim's throats, and noted that as dentists, the talwhars had surgical experience. Examining the crime-seeing photos, investigators also came to the conclusion that the weapon used to hit both victims in their head was a golf club. This was why they had you or V-shaped injuries. As it happened, Areshi's father Rajesh was an amateur golfer and owned a set of clubs which were kept in Hem Rajesh quarters. A forensic expert was asked to analyse the crime scene based on photographs and a visit to the apartment, which the Tao Wars had long since vacated. After studying pictures of Aruxie's blood-stained bedroom, he pointed out that there appeared

to be two distinct impact splutters on the wall behind the bedhead. He believed this meant they'd come from two different victims, meaning Aruxie and Hemrache were attacked in the same room at the same time. This supported the theory that the pair were together in bed when they were murdered. Then the killer dragged Hamraj's body up to the terrace to conceal it. Blood found on the staircase leading to the terrace was seen to confirm this. case leading to the terrace was seen to confirm this. The fact that the stuffed toys on Aruxis bed had no blood on them, pointed to the killer dressing the crime scene after the murders.

The way they had covered Aruxis' body with a blanket and her favorite bag also suggested a personal connection to the victim. To the new team of investigators, all the evidence was pointing back to a theory that noiter police had cited from the start. Aruchi Talwar had been having an intimate relationship with Hamraj Benjardi and to the two were victims of an honour killing. On Monday, May 24, 2010, which would have been Arujese's 16th birthday, an article about the new investigation was published in English language newspaper The Pioneer. Quoting several unnamed CBI sources, the story hinted that Rajesh Talwar was again being

considered as a suspect. Rajesh objected to the article, prompting the CBI to deny ever speaking with the publication. Seven months later in December, the agency concluded their investigation and released a final report on the case. In it, they officially cleared Krishna Tatarai, Rajkumar and Vijay Mandal of any involvement. As well as pointing to the trio's alabeyas, investigators said the servants wouldn't have dared drink alcohol late at night in the home of one of their employers. The CBI also ruled out the possibility that an intruder committed the crimes, citing the lack of forced entry or motive.

It was pointed out that an intruder would have no reason to hide Hamaraj's body, or stage Areshish's room. Ultimately, the CBI concluded that circumstantial evidence pointed to Rajesh Talwar committing the murders in a fit of rage, after finding Hamraj imbed with his daughter. His wife Newport was accused of helping to cover up the crime. Only those who lived in the apartment would have the time and access required to clean Arujshi, remove any trace of Hamrajhage from her room and staged the scene. However, there was a total lack of physical evidence due in part to the original investigators failing to secure the crime scene. While it was suspected that Rajesh had used one of his golf clubs and a scalpel to carry

out the attack, there was nothing to prove this. They had no blood-stained clothing, fingerprints or DNA confirming Rajesh was the killer. Consequently, the CBI recommended that the case be closed without charging the telwars. Rajesh and Newport telwars were devastated by this turn of events. Although they were not being charged, the report made shocking allegations against them. The couple decided to file a petition asserting their innocence and demanding that the case remain open. On Tuesday, January 25, 2011, as the pair made their way to a magistrate's court that

exclusively looked at CBI cases, they were followed by crowds of police and TV news crews. Public interest in the Noida double murder was as strong as ever. Suddenly, a young man rushed from the crowd towards Rajesh Talwar. He was carrying a meat cleaver. He swung the cleaver at Rajesh's face, slashing his right cheek. Rajesh raised his hands to protect himself and the man swung again. This time he broke one of Rajesh's fingers and badly wounded his hands. The perpetrator was quickly overpowered and Rajesh was rescued, but suffered a sliced

artery, cut tendons, and a severed facial nerve. His right cheek was permanently scarred. The perpetrator was a 29-year-old vigilante named Utsav Sharma, who had previously attacked a former police chief. Sharma said he was angry about the slow progress in the Noida case. While Rajesh was recovering from the violent attack, the court case proceeded. After considering the Talwar's petition, the magistrate dismissed it and went a step further.

She turned the CBI's closure report into a charge sheet, declaring that there was enough evidence to charge the couple for Arushi and Hemraj's murders. Rajesh and Newport Talwwa were ordered to stand trial. The Talwa's appealed the order, first at the state's high court and then at the Supreme Court. They lost to both appeals and their trial began in May 2013, five years after their daughter's murder. As well as having to answer two counts of murder, they were charged with destroying evidence.

The prosecutor presented the court with the CBI's theory of how the murders had unfolded. While Rajesh was still up and using the internet in the early hours of May 16, 2008, he heard a noise and went to investigate. First, he went to Hamraj's quarters and was surprised to find the M empty. While there, he heard another noise and realized that was coming from Aresh's room. Rajesh grabbed a golf club from the bag where they were stored and ran to his daughter's

bedroom. Finding Arashie and Hamraj in bed together, Rajesh lashed out. He hit Hamraj in the head with the golf club. As he went to deal a second blow, Hamraj moved to avoid it, leading the club to hit Arashie instead. Meanwhile, Newport was woken by all the commotion that was going on just seven feet away. The CBI believed it was impossible for her to miss

when her bed was one room away and to less than eight feet from Arashii's. She went to her daughter's room and saw the two victims lying near death with severe head injuries. Newport and Rajesh agreed to cover up the crime. They wrapped hemorrhage in a bedsheet and dragged him to the terrace where they cut his throat before concealing him with the cooler panel.

The plan was to dispose of him properly later. To ensure the crimes looked identical, they then cut their daughters throat before cleaning her body to hide any sign of sexual activity. They also cleaned hemorrhages blood from the floor and disposed of any bloody clothing, as well as the scouple or similar weapon used to cut the victim's throat. Afterwards Rajesh sat in the living room and drank some whiskey to calm down. A key witness for the prosecution was Barty Mundell, the maid who had just started working for the tawhas at the time of the murders.

She was the first person to arrive at the scene and said that when she tried to open the first of three doors to the apartment, it hadn't barged. The CBI argued that the tao-wars must have latched the door from the inside. This proved that they were the killers, because an intruder wouldn't have been able to do such a thing and still flee the apartment. Bati had asked Nupor to throw down the keys to her so she could let herself in. The CBI suspected that while Bati waited below the balcony, Nupor rented the hallway and unlatched the first door so Bati could open it.

After she threw down the keys, Bati returned to the first door. This time had opened when she pressed her hand against it. Other evidence the CBI caught on was the large palm print made with hemorrhage's blood on a terrace wall and the smeared bloody fingerprints on the whiskey bottle. They said that Rajesh Talwar had been wearing surgical gloves while carrying out the crime, which left a larger than usual handprint, and made collecting fingerprints impossible. The defense said about trying to refute all of these points. While cross-examining Bharti Mandel about attempting to open the door

to the Talwaz apartment, she told them, I'm stating whatever has been explained to me. They took this to mean that she had been coached by the CBI. In a subsequent interview with the documentary film crew, Barty said she hadn't pushed the outer door until after she had the keys, which was contrary to her statement in court. The Talwhas driver also testified that the outer door had a habit of sticking. If someone just pressed it lightly and might appear to be latched, but you had to push hard to open it. After being charged, the talwhars had requested that more evidence from the crime scene be submitted for DNA touch testing, including the bloody palm print left on the terrace, the golf club believed

to be the murder weapon, and the whiskey bottle found in the living room. These requests were denied. The defense still tried to argue against the whiskey bottle evidence, pointing out that it didn't make sense for Rajesh to leave it out if he was the killer. He could have simply stashed it in the bar, which was concealed inside a cabinet. A killer outside the family was more likely to leave it out as they wouldn't know where the secret bar was. As for the CBI's claim that the Tauwars must have hurt the crime taking place, it had been the middle of summer and noisy air conditioners were running in both bedrooms.

A sound simulation test ordered by the CBI had even found that it was possible that our wires might not have heard what was happening one room over. Experts also refuted the assertion that the victim's neck wounds had been made using a light scalpel-like weapon with surgical precision. Due to the large size of the injuries, it seemed that a bigger bluntle weapon was used. A gynecologist gave evidence that disputed that of the doctor who had performed areshis autopsy. His amended report claimed that areshis vagina had been so dilated that he could see

her cervix. The gynecologist testified that this was not possible unless force had been used after rigour mortis set in. Such force would result in noticeable injuries, which were absent from Areshi's body. None of Hemragis blood or DNA had been found in Areshi's room. The notion that the talwhars had somehow identified which blood was his and then succeeded in cleaning it all up while leaving Areshi's untouched was labelled absurd. The defense argued that hemorrhage had been killed on the terrace as originally agreed. The blood on the staircase leading up there

hadn't come from the taawas dragging his body, but from Arashis mattress. Some acquaintances of the taawas who had been given police permission to clean the apartment initially took it up there to dispose of it. When they found the terrace door locked, they left the mattress on a neighbor's terrace instead. The defense had an alternative suspect in mind. When they had gained access to the prosecution's evidence during preparation for the trial, they discovered a forensics report dated November 6, 2008. It related to items belonging to the Tawai's former employee, Krishna Tatarai. The original CBI team had collected the items while investigating Krishna and two of his

acquaintances for the crime. One of the items was the Ku Kri knife with blood from an unidentified animal on it. Another was a purple pillowcase stained with several spots of blood. According to the report, DNA testing revealed the blood belonged to Hemraj Benjadi. The defense couldn't believe that this evidence had somehow been overlooked for five years. When they presented it during the Taoa's attempt to appeal the charges, the CBI said it was simply a typographical error. The pillowcase with blood on it had actually been recovered from hemorrhage's room, but

it had been mislabeled as belonging to Krishna. With no further evidence to support one claim or the other, the defense could not use the pillowcase evidence at trial. In late November 2013, six months after the trial began, the judge was ready to deliver a verdict. He ruled that it had been proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Rajesh and Nupur Tawwa had murdered Aarishai and Hemraj. He also found them guilty of destroying evidence to cover up the crime. Rajesh and Nupur burst into tears upon hearing the verdict.

The CBI had asked that they received the death penalty. The judge sentenced them to life in prison. The talwhars continued to maintain their innocence, as did their supporters. Defenders of the couple pointed out that the murder weapon was never established, and there was no forensic evidence tying the couple to out that the murder weapon was never established, and there was no forensic evidence tying the couple to the crime. So how could they have been convicted beyond the reasonable doubt? Journalist Avi Rook San, who wrote a book about the case titled Arujee, accused the judge

of deciding on the verdict before the defense had finished presenting their case. The taloas found purpose in prison by setting up a dental clinic there with permission of the authorities. They treated their fellow inmates while waiting for their first appeal to be heard by the alahabad-high-court, the highest court in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Almost four years after they were incarcerated, the high court found that the evidence presented by the CBI was not sufficient to find them guilty beyond the reasonable doubt. In a scathing 273-page report, they said the CBI had miserably failed to find evidence

to support their theory of the crime. Rajesh and Newport Talwar were both acquitted of all charges and allowed to return home. Some were angered by this decision. The CBI announced their intention to challenge the ruling at the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal, but there have been no further updates, and the case remains unsolved as of mid-2023. In the Nepalese village where Hamraj Benjade was from, many of his family and friends are certain that the T Wai's were guilty. Hamraj's wife, Kumkula Benjade, has spoken publicly of her conviction that Rajesh Talwar

killed her husband. Who else would do this? She asked in a 2017 documentary series titled Arushi Beyond the Reasonable Doubt. Kumkula believed at the initial theory of the case that Rajesh had been having an affair and killed Aruchi after she found out. Hamraj had witnessed the murder, so Rajesh killed him too. According to Kunkola, Hamraj had cared cared for Arashi like she was his own daughter. Others who had known Ham Raj also vouched for his kind and loyal character.

A woman who'd employed Ham Raj for 15 years prior to him joining the Talwar household said he had always been protective of her children, to the point of intervening if she or her husband were angry with them. Kunkola told the filmmakers how difficult her life was without Hamraj. He had moved to India to find work and provide for his family, but he made sure to return one sort twice a year. He would stay for about a month before going back to India. Almost a decade after his death, Kumbh Kula still missed him constantly and found it hard to believe he was gone.

To make matters worse, it felt like her husband was the forgotten victim of his own murder. Quote There's an emptiness in everything. How do I put it in words? Dr. Talwa has money, so everyone only talks about his daughter's murder. We are poor, so who will stand up for us? Others see the Talwa's as victims of corrupt policing agencies, a flawed justice system, and a media circus.

Journalist and cousin of Newport Shri Paradka wrote an article about the case for Toronto Star. She'd explained that they'd assumed the CBI was independent of the state police who botched the first investigation. But it turned out the CBI officers who charged the talwhars were colleagues of the Noida police. Issues of class and social mores may have contributed to the talwhars prosecution. The couple were urban middle-class professionals who spoke English and were university educated. They had fairly liberal values and a relationship with their daughter that was more open and

easy-going than many Indians were accustomed to. Aruchi was permitted to talk to boys, go out with friends, and could be cheeky with her parents. Most of the police officers and CBI investigators responsible for the case came from more conservative backgrounds. Elements of the Talwaz lives which were quite normal for middle-class Indian families appeared foreign and troubling to them. Their cosmopolitan lifestyle led to allegations that the couple had affairs and engaged in swinging. The fact that Rajesh and Newport didn't cry in public after their daughter's murder also seemed suspicious. When confronted by this, they argued that no one saw how much they cried every day in the privacy of their home.

When journalist Aviruk San visited the Tawaz at their home, they showed him keepsakes they had of their daughter. These included a letter Arujee had written to Santa Claus for what would turn out to be her final Christmas. It read, out to be her final Christmas. It rad. Dear Santa, Merry Christmas to you. I know you will be tired from running here and there giving children what they wanted, but I want something totally different.

I want the well-being of my family. I want no harm to reach them. Please fulfill my wish. My second wish is that I want my parents to always be with me and my friends too. My third wish is a bit silly. I want a dog, not from you, but from my parents. I wish they'd agree. Reflecting on the letter, Rajesh said in a sad voice.

He didn't fulfill even one of her wishes. Did he? you you