“Aarushi” by Avirook Sen

This is an unusual book because of the extra-ordinary courage with which it has been written. Indeed, the book exposes the corruption in the judiciary, the police and the society at large. Journalists and politicians have an advantage of knowing too much about too many things; some exploit this advantage for power, some for money, some for fame, and some for the love of their job. Avirook Sen’s sincerity in his style of writing makes me believe that he falls in the last category; therefore, I have believed everything written in the book without any further enquiry or investigation. And, after reading this book, I am satisfied that I know the truth. The truth is simple and credible: Aarushi was murdered by some lechers, not the parents.

But, the book explains in great detail how a simple truth gets obfuscated in the labyrinth of false legal arguments, fabricated evidence, and callous/incompetent judiciary. Add to that the naivety/negligence/smugness of the defence counsels, you have two innocent souls rusting behind the prison walls in search of their lost identity at the cost of their compromised diginty. This is the fight for survival; some just give up and commit suicide; some fight and survive. In this fight, if an unknown journalist writes a compendium of the attacks that parents faced from the media, the judiciary, the investigative agencies and the society at large, as if the whole world conspired against them; the writing becomes more than an interesting read: it comes as a long lost light at the end of the tunnel, which, unfortunately, has not still reached the depths — therefore, the parents are still suffering, and the judiciary is still indifferent.

The book is divided into three parts: the investigation, the trial, and the post-trial events. Being an advocate myself, I have better understood the writing and am much more comfortable in appreciating the research that has gone behind the writing of this book. But the best value addition has been the change in attitude. I never believed in the theory of parents murdering their child but just couldn’t reconcile the conspiracies with facts. Facts were indeed missing, which have been presented in the public domain in the form easily comprehensible in this book, which per se is a very big achievement of the book. Even if the author had written his book in the bullet form, I would have read it, but now I have read it like a novel practically in a single sitting — I did take a sleep break between the first two parts and the third part. The book has been very well-written, which binds the interest of the reader. Generally when the book is divided into parts, people find it convenient to read it part-by-part. However, in this book, I can vouch if you are a lawyer and start reading the second part after finishing the first part, you can’t leave it without completing it; and that’s precisely what happened to me. Indeed, I read it like a novel.

However, even after reading the truth, I am frustrated and scared. I know how the system works. I know the chances of parents getting justice are one-in-ten. I know this book will not influence the judiciary in any manner, nor should it do. I know the judiciary will practice the same impatience, the counsels the same deference towards judiciary, and the media the same indifference. Then there are umpteen such similar cases where innocents are rusting behind prisons in far more disadvantageous situations. So, the questions will be asked: why such favouritism towards Talwars? is Avirook Sen their agent? why nobody ever trust the police? who sponsored this research? why Talwars are more comfortable than other prisoners? And the conclusions will be drawn once again.

Here, the success of the book doesn’t lie in the revenue it generates, but in the light it throws inside the dark dungeons where the parents and many others in similar situations are waiting for light. Free it from the color of money: that’s my advice to the author and the publishers!

Comment Dt. 31.10.2015

A video has been uploaded on Youtube recently, which is alleged to be a partial raw footage of the Narco Test of Krishna. I have been waiting for the release of the second part, but the uploader has not uploaded it till now.
Anyways, though I have no idea how the Narco Tests should be interpreted, I have reached a conclusion that the video completely absolves Krishna of any culpability whatsoever. The Narco Test results reported in the book are at variance with the conclusion I have drawn on watching the video. However, I have few doubts: Krishna was indeed manipulating the Test; the second part has not been uploaded; the video was edited, not raw footage as claimed; and the video has not been verified by any authority till now.

© 2015 Ankur Mutreja

About the Author

Ankur Mutreja
Ankur Mutreja is an advocate-cum-writer, and his blogs are amongst his modes of expression. He has also authored number of books, which can be downloaded from the links on the top menu.

Be the first to comment on "“Aarushi” by Avirook Sen"

Trolls Welcomed :-)

%d bloggers like this: