In life after prison, Talwars say acquittal changed public perception

“My tragedy is very large and too painful. To be part of the society again was the biggest challenge,” the father said about their trauma.

Pic: Videograb

New Delhi: Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, who were recently acquitted by the Allahabad High Court in the Aarushi murder case, said their daughter's untimely death has left a huge void in their life which will never be filled again.

In their first television interview available online after they were released from prison, the Talwars said only “God is the biggest judge and whatever he does, it will be for the best.”

“My tragedy is very large and too painful. To be part of the society again was the biggest challenge,” the father said about his trauma.

“Every scientific test has cleared us of everything,” he declared.

Narrating about the events on the day of the court verdict, which gave back their freedom, Rajesh said that “a group of boys came running to us in the prison and informed us that our appeal has been accepted by the court.”

“That is how we got to know. We were crying in relief. It was a very emotional moment.

“A big load had been lifted from my back and I was very grateful to god and 'Waheguru' that we had been vindicated,” he said.

“News spreads very fast there (prison). Somebody heard on television somewhere that we had been acquited, Suddenly everybody was emotional and there was a lot of hugging,” said Nupur.

“I found it unbelievable because it was a miracle. I felt that a great miracle had just happened. I broke down and a lot of women there also broke down and the officials were kind enough to let us meet,” she said.

Asked how did they muster the courage to face the tragedy and prison incarceration, Rajesh said that a friend had helped them to face the world.

“There was a time of an extreme period of hopelessness, particularly after the bail was rejected. A friend came to our lives and gave us hope, hope about everything, about how to live in jail,” he said.

Nupur said the first two years were “very miserable” and “we were in a lot of fear and absolutely hopeless”.

But the public perception has changed dramatically after the verdict, said Rajesh.

“When we went to the Golden Temple after our release, there were people coming to us to show their sympathy and said that a wrong has been righted.”

“Confinement is not an easy thing to face and also losing your freedom and facing a stigma.

“But people in jail were very supportive to us, they were all very nice, slowly we got used to life in jail.

Remembering their daughter, her mother said, “She (Aarushi) was very kind, took care of her friends who were less fortunate, she was very compassionate.”

Thirteen-year-old Aarushi and Hemraj Banjade, the Talwar family’s domestic help, was found murdered in their Noida home in 2008. Their murder is one of the most sensational, shocking and mystifying cases the country has seen.