PUBLISHER'S NOTE: It is sad to learn that Nupur and Rajesh Talwar have not yet been cleared by the Indian Courts and free of the stigma of being accused of murdering their daughter Aarushi, in a case that wreaks of pathetically incompetent investigation (if you can even call it 'investigation') , botched forensics, and trial by media. The Gulf News story details how both Nupur and Rajesh have been running a dental clinic in their prison for prisoners, prison officials and other staff. That says something about the sterling character of The Talwars. But it should not divert us from the truth that Nupur and Rajesh Talwar should be utterly free, relieved of the stigma, and have the opportunity to rebuild their lives in their community, as the innocent, grieving parents, which they undoubtedly are. There are much better ways of finding people with special skills such as the Talwars - dentists, doctors, psychologists, whatever, to provide assistance to inmates and prison staff - than by locking them up in prison on the flimsiest of evidence pending their appeals. (I have read and re-read the following sentence from the story. "Their appeal pending before the Allahabad High Court, the dentist couple, meanwhile, live a quiet life at Dasna Prison in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, about 35km from New Delhi." Perhaps we should all be permitted to go to prison for years, like the Talwars, to live 'a quiet life.' HL); It has already been eight years for the Talwars. Enough is enough.
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;
----------------------------------------------------------
STORY: "Convicted parents in Aarushi murder case putting expertise to good use in prison," by reproter Nilima Pathak, published by Gulf News on November 29, 2016.
SUB-HEADING: "Convicted parents in Aarushi murder case provide dental aid to prison staff and inmates"
GIST: New Delhi: Nupur Talwar, who is serving life sentence along with her husband Rajesh Talwar in the Aarushi murder case, is likely to walk out of Dasna Prison this week after being granted parole by the Allahabad High Court. She had been out on parole twice earlier — in September and October — to take care of her ailing mother. The court pronounced the couple guilty on November 23, 2013 of murdering their own daughter. Their appeal pending before the Allahabad High Court, the dentist couple, meanwhile, live a quiet life at Dasna Prison in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, about 35km from New Delhi. They eagerly look forward to days when family and friends, who have stood by them, come calling. As the nightmare continues, hiding the pain of losing their only daughter and living with the stigma of murdering her, the couple is bringing their prison stint to good use by providing succour to prison staff and inmates requiring dental care. Shiv Prakash Yadav, who took over as Prison Superintendent in May 2014, told Gulf Gulf News, “During my rounds and discussions with the prison’s medical staff and inmates, I realised the lack of awareness towards oral hygiene and care, which was leading to dental issues. We had rudimentary dental facility, which provided symptomatic relief from pain and that too was attended to by dental students from a nearby dental college once a week.” While only in some cases, inmates requiring dental treatment were sent to the district hospital, needs of others were largely neglected. Such constraints affected their general health and well being.
Yadav decided to set up a well-equipped dental clinic
inside the prison in a 200 square feet area in consultation with the
Talwars and senior medical consultant of Dasna, Dr Sunil Tyagi. The
clinic, furnished with modern equipment, enables Rajesh, a
prosthodontist, to carry out all sorts of dental procedures five days a
week and Nupur, an orthodontist, treats women inmates once a week.
“We ensured that the Talwars were provided with all facilities, which doctors of their calibre deserve for the betterment of inmates. Not only that, even prison officials and other staff, who have to put in long hours of duty, find it convenient for their family and themselves to be treated by them in the vicinity of the prison,” Yadav added.........Asked what the Talwars look forward to, Yadav said, “Knowing that truth is on their side and ultimately it has to win, they wait with faith and patience.”... On a warm summer morning of May 16, 2008, Aarushi Talwar, a week away from her 14th birthday, was found dead with her throat slit open in her apartment at Jalvayu Vihar in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. A day after the teenager’s murder, the second body, that of Hemraj, the 45-year-old servant of the Talwars, was discovered from the terrace of their house. Though there was no Hercule Poirot to solve the murder mysteries, within a week, the Uttar Pradesh Police, who had neither cordoned off the murder site nor collected evidence, declared they had cracked the case. The police accused Rajesh for the double murders. It created furore among the public, leading the court to direct the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate the case. Unable to find any evidence, in December 2010, the CBI sought the court’s permission to close the case. But not before making several insinuations against both Nupur and Rajesh. The case would have rested there, had the couple reconciled to the fate of losing their daughter. But, as Rajesh had then said, “Finding the CBI’s insinuations appalling, we seek justice for our daughter and challenge the report.” The Talwars asked for a proper investigation with the hope of proving their innocence in court against murder charges. Finally the couple were declared guilty of the two murders. Eight years on, the murder case stands faded from media and public memory...The Aarushi murder case had been reported by investigative journalist Avirook Sen, who later wrote a book ‘Aarushi’ focusing on the art and science of forensics, trial by media, shoddy analysis and the insidious turns the case took due to the pressure to ‘close’ the case. Sen laid bare the details of how the CBI, expected to ‘solve’ the murder mystery, instead manipulated and distorted facts. It resorted to unethical means to frame the Talwars of murdering their child. The book provided an insight into the judiciary and its insensitivity towards the couple who stood trial with the hope of finding justice for their daughter, but were let down by the system.
Seemingly, in the case of the Talwars, the lines between fiction and non-fiction began getting blurred, as they fought the case. As Sen put it, “What is shocking about this case was that daily injustices were being overlooked. The Talwars had lost the battle of perception a long time ago. In the public mind, they were — guilty. What was playing out at the trial seemed almost a formality — just the paperwork for a case that had been settled long ago. That is shocking. And unjust.”
“We ensured that the Talwars were provided with all facilities, which doctors of their calibre deserve for the betterment of inmates. Not only that, even prison officials and other staff, who have to put in long hours of duty, find it convenient for their family and themselves to be treated by them in the vicinity of the prison,” Yadav added.........Asked what the Talwars look forward to, Yadav said, “Knowing that truth is on their side and ultimately it has to win, they wait with faith and patience.”... On a warm summer morning of May 16, 2008, Aarushi Talwar, a week away from her 14th birthday, was found dead with her throat slit open in her apartment at Jalvayu Vihar in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. A day after the teenager’s murder, the second body, that of Hemraj, the 45-year-old servant of the Talwars, was discovered from the terrace of their house. Though there was no Hercule Poirot to solve the murder mysteries, within a week, the Uttar Pradesh Police, who had neither cordoned off the murder site nor collected evidence, declared they had cracked the case. The police accused Rajesh for the double murders. It created furore among the public, leading the court to direct the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate the case. Unable to find any evidence, in December 2010, the CBI sought the court’s permission to close the case. But not before making several insinuations against both Nupur and Rajesh. The case would have rested there, had the couple reconciled to the fate of losing their daughter. But, as Rajesh had then said, “Finding the CBI’s insinuations appalling, we seek justice for our daughter and challenge the report.” The Talwars asked for a proper investigation with the hope of proving their innocence in court against murder charges. Finally the couple were declared guilty of the two murders. Eight years on, the murder case stands faded from media and public memory...The Aarushi murder case had been reported by investigative journalist Avirook Sen, who later wrote a book ‘Aarushi’ focusing on the art and science of forensics, trial by media, shoddy analysis and the insidious turns the case took due to the pressure to ‘close’ the case. Sen laid bare the details of how the CBI, expected to ‘solve’ the murder mystery, instead manipulated and distorted facts. It resorted to unethical means to frame the Talwars of murdering their child. The book provided an insight into the judiciary and its insensitivity towards the couple who stood trial with the hope of finding justice for their daughter, but were let down by the system.
Seemingly, in the case of the Talwars, the lines between fiction and non-fiction began getting blurred, as they fought the case. As Sen put it, “What is shocking about this case was that daily injustices were being overlooked. The Talwars had lost the battle of perception a long time ago. In the public mind, they were — guilty. What was playing out at the trial seemed almost a formality — just the paperwork for a case that had been settled long ago. That is shocking. And unjust.”
The entire story can be found at
ulfnews.com/news/asia/india/convicted-parents-in-aarushi-murder-case-putting-expertise-to-good-use-in-prison-1.1934291
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/
