Memories of Aarushi fade as life goes on at Jalvayu Vihar
NOIDA: Nine-and-a-half years later, the memories of 14-year-old girl Aarushi Talwar and domestic servant Hemraj Banjade, have now faded with time. However, neem trees named in the memory of the two are slowly growing in a garden near L32 flat in Jalvayu Vihar, Sector 25, here.
On May 16, 2008, the day Aarushi was found murdered, everyone living in the locality received a shock. In the following days as the investigation unfolded, every nook and corner of Jalvayu Vihar reverberated with several theories behind the deaths. Within a few days, even the nation started pondering over theories behind the crime, following intense media coverage.
“People started making their own theories on the incident.
On the day she was found dead, Talwar’s domestic help, Hemraj Banjade, was missing and he became the initial suspect.
A day later, when his body was discovered on the terrace of their residence, her parents, Dr Rajesh Talwar and Dr Nupur Talwar, became the prime suspects,” said (retired) Commander Narendra Mohan, who has lived in the neighbourhood since 1994. “Police started believing some select rumours and proceeded into the matter,” he said.
However, those who closely knew the family refused to believe the theory that the doctor couple murdered their only child and the domestic help, he added.
Deepali, a relatively newer resident of Jalvayu Vihar, who owns a house in the same block, said, “When we bought a home two years back in this block, we did not knew that Aarushi lived here, but later came to know about it. But the incident is a thing of past now... No one really talks about it, except the news channels.”