Aarushi Quotes

“The whole truth is a luxury. In case you are looking for it, a courtroom isn’t the place to either start or end the search.”
― Avirook Sen, Aarushi

“Over the two and a half years that I worked on this book, I realized that the facts I gathered were also a commentary on the country we live in. When the astronaut Rakesh Sharma went to space in the early 1980s, the then prime minister, Indira Gandhi, asked him what India looked like from up there. Rakesh Sharma’s response was memorable: Saare jahan se achha (better than all the world). This book is about what it looks like from the ground.”
― Avirook Sen, Aarushi

“The guard and the morning-walker’s depositions threw up the following suggestion: if you have lost a loved one in a violent crime and do not weep at the exact times future witnesses for the prosecution arrive at your home, then you must be guilty.”
― Avirook Sen, Aarushi

“Most Indian investigators work towards getting a confession rather than investigating the case. It is the easiest way to get a conviction in court—and the laziest.”
― Avirook Sen, Aarushi

“The top echelons of the UP bureaucracy had their own traditions; those lower down had theirs, even if these were less known. There are two informal indexes that aid decisions regarding transfers and postings in the UP police. These help superior officers place the right people in the right areas. One is the ‘HLI’ or ‘high loot index’, which rates a locality. For instance, a part of town that is full of markets and businesses would be a ‘high loot index’ area. In other words, a lucrative place for a policeman to be. The other index is the RHI, or the ‘Robin Hood index’, and this rates personnel. A cop who has a high ‘RHI’ mark isn’t someone who, as the name might suggest, robs from the rich and gives to the poor. He simply robs. That is, extorts. When decisions regarding assignments are taken, superior officers try to keep in mind HLI and RHI and find a balance. If, for instance, a high RHI station house officer is posted to a station that’s in a low HLI area, chaos could ensue. Low HLI means fewer extortion opportunities, and a high RHI cop’s appetite would not be satisfied. So the few businesses in the area would be put under an unfair amount of pressure.”
― Avirook Sen, Aarushi

“The polygraph or lie detector test consists of a customary pre-test interview, after which subjects are familiarized with the equipment and given sitting instructions. A number of tubes and wires are then attached to them. These record physiological responses to questions read that must be categorically answered in ‘yes’ or ‘no’ terms. The questions come every 25 seconds. The questions are straightforward. As the subject answers questions, every physiological change in the subject, whether it is in respiration, pulse rate, blood pressure or even skin reflex—through electrodes attached to fingers—is recorded. A comparison with his normal physiological performance guides the examiner to an opinion on whether or not the subject is telling the truth.”
― Avirook Sen, Aarushi

“brain-mapping is done in a soundproof room where the subject sits behind a one-way glass window (the scientists outside can look in), with electrodes attached to various parts of the body.”
― Avirook Sen, Aarushi

“The sodium pentothal injection has two effects on a human being: it produces a sense of serenity and well-being; it also makes them talk—and reveal information without fear. Scientists say this is the most humane way of eliciting information from suspects, filling gaps in an investigation.”
― Avirook Sen, Aarushi

“The first court-authorized narco analysis test in India was done at the Sabarmati jail in Gujarat in 1989 by a young behavioural scientist named Dr S.L. Vaya. At the time police liberally, but completely illegally, injected sodium pentothal (or truth serum) into suspects. Dr Vaya felt that a valuable investigative tool such as this needed to be legitimized, and administered by professionals.”
― Avirook Sen, Aarushi

“The reason for this was not just the fact that the murders disturbed some kind of middle-class idyll, it was also that wafting through the story was the aroma of sex. The idea of the teenager and the servant engaged in coitus intrigued middle-class Indians. They wanted to know more.”
― Avirook Sen, Aarushi

“Mahesh Kumar Mishra, asked the constables to”
― Avirook Sen, Aarushi

“The Talwars’ narco also as good as negated the honour killing motive—their value systems wouldn’t allow it. The results said: ‘Considering the parents’ intellectual capacity, outlook and open-minded attitude, it will be easy for them to accept even the most unacceptable behaviour of their daughter compared to losing her permanently.”
― Avirook Sen, Aarushi