The Real Murder Mystery

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 the 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 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.