Talwars free after four years, get warm welcome at home

Just for a moment, the Talwars stood still.

Then they quietly walked out of Ghaziabad's Dasna jail, where they had spent four years over the murder of their daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj.

Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, both dentists, looked sombre as they stepped out of the main inner gate of the jail towards a car that was waiting for them outside at 4.55 pm.

Rajesh Talwar wore a white shirt and a pair of blue trousers, while his wife was dressed in an orange kurta, with a white salwar and dupatta. They both carried bags.

Aarushi's uncle Dinesh Talwar, along with lawyer Tanvir Ahmed Mir, reached the jail at 4.48 PM.

Minutes later, the Talwar couple were out of the prison, with photographers and camerapersons milling around to capture them in their frames.

The two stood still for a few seconds, before walking up to the car, escorted by Dinesh Talwar.

The police escorted the couple to the residence of Aarushi's maternal grandparents in Jalvayu Vihar in Noida. Nupur Talwar's father, BG Chitnis, was a former group captain in the Indian Air Force.

The Talwars lived in another flat -- later rented out -- in the same society, and it was there that Aarushi and Hemraj were found dead in 2008. Aarushi was discovered in her bedroom with her throat slit on May 16. Hemraj's body was found the next day from the terrace.

Convicted for the double murder, the Talwars were lodged in jail in 2013 -- and freed only after the Allahabad High Court on October 12 acquitted them.

The media had gathered in front of the Chitnis flat, along with residents of Jalvayu Vihar and others.

At 6.05 pm, the car drew up into the society.

Dinesh Talwar, who was sitting in the front, got out of the car and urged the assembled media to give the family some privacy. Earlier, his wife Vandana had requested the media to leave the Talwars alone.

Five minutes later, the Talwars, who were in the back seat, emerged and then walked up the stairs to the Chitnis flat.

Not one word was spoken to the media.