Indian capital New Delhi’s inhabitants, then all those who came across the heart-rending news from TV channels and newspapers, were shocked to learn about murder of Arushi Talwar, a 14 years old sweet, shy and innocent girl on May 15, in an elite family in a posh area of Noida. She was so young, so innocent and so angel-like that many eyes shed tears to see her photograph flashed on front pages of newspapers the next day. It was a ‘murder most foul’ indeed, to quote Shakespeare.
Two days later another ghastly murder of Benjade, the servant of Talwar family came to light. He had been killed in the same house in the same night, probably by the same killer. Police first bungled, then higher authorities stepped in and investigation picked up. More blood-curdling facts emerged.
The circumstantial evidence so far collected rules out the entry of the murderer from outside the house as the house has a very strong and fool-proof security system. Available facts indicate that the murderer must have been an insider. Further investigations and sustained interrogation of servants, relatives, friends and visitors made the investigators to zero in on Dr. Rajesh Talwar, father of the victim Arushi.
We are not in a position to give our opinion as regards innocence or otherwise of Dr. Rajesh. He should be given benefit of doubt until proven guilty. Yet we cannot uphold our comments about the disturbing trends emerging in our society, which such incidents bring forward.
If the reports are correct, it is not only murder most foul, but most strange and most unnatural. The father is the custodian, caretaker and protector of his children, especially of daughters. What made a father to indulge in this most heinous murder? It has sent shockwaves through the minds of children, parents and families. Psychologists and psychiatrists are pleading with newspapers not to publish gory details of this brutal murder of a daughter in the hands of her own father. They are saying that greater restrain in reportage of this crime should be observed as it sends very disturbing signals to traumatised children of society who are appalled beyond imagination. Murder of a daughter in the hands of her own father is certainly a very unusual, unnatural and ghastly crime which shatters our ideas of normal security and basic morality.
It is also being suggested that the father, who is otherwise a gentleman and successful dentist, had extramarital relationship. The police alleged that he killed the servant and daughter because they came to know of the illicit affair and the daughter was even objecting to it. If it is true, it unveils another unpleasant aspect of growing immorality and sexual impropriety in our society, especially in its affluent sections. Our filmmakers, journalists and writers who indulge in presenting not only implicit and suggestive sex stories, but open invitation to explicitly immoral things in the name of art and freedom of expression, must think what they are doing to the society. Premarital and extramarital relations which give rise to conflicts, violence and even murder are becoming acceptable in our so-called modern and progressive society. This trend is practically nullifying all norms of decency and throwing to wind the principles of morality.
Our society is very badly in need of reassertion of moral principles and reawakening of ethical sense to consolidate and protect family bonds and family norms. Also the inviolably sacred nature of human life must be emphasised. The sanctity of life must be respected at any cost and should not be violated even in the face of worst provocations from within or without.