Former CBI Joint Director, Arun Kumar, who directly led the Aarushi Talvar murder investigation after it was handed over to the agency a fortnight after the murders in May 2008, spoke exclusively to The Quint and broke his silence on a case that has become urban legend in India.
After the release of Meghna Gulzar’s Talvar, Kumar in an interview to NDTV, opened up for the first time on television about the double murder that has had the entire country on tenterhooks on several occasions over the years.
Actor Irrfan Khan played Kumar in Talvar, when asked about his thoughts on the critically acclaimed actor’s portrayal of him, here’s Kumar’s paraphrased reply —
Irrfan’s character represents the stand of the first investigating team. As a spectator I feel that it’s a very sensibly made movie, the way the story develops and unfolds, the film-makes have taken a very balanced view and have left it on the viewers to form their own opinion. As far as Irrfan’s role his concerned he is an excellent actor and has done a very good job.
When asked whether the film comes close to the actual truth, Kumar said that it was natural for film makes to take cinematic liberties but Talvar retains the crux and jist of the whole controversy and brings it out in a balanced manner.
Kumar was also quizzed about why it took so long for him to open up to the media, and why no other officer had spoken for so long about the issue. He replied that the inability of the police to procure all the forensic evidence on time led to increased dependence on the statements of the witnesses, which were changed several times, and hence made it very difficult for the investigating agencies to crack the case and led to a lot of ambiguity.
Kumar declined to comment on the question of politics and rivalries between him and CBI Director Ashwini Kumar, who did not allow him to file a chargesheet that which was at odds with the one finally filed.
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