Ghaziabad:
The trial of Nupur and Rajesh Talwar for the murders of their only child Aarushi and their domestic help will begin on Friday in a Ghaziabad court near Delhi. A judge today rejected claims from the Talwars that they have yet to receive critical documents from the CBI, and said the proceedings against them could begin.
The couple was present in court. Mrs Talwar, a dentist like her husband, was brought to court from the jail where she has been staying for nearly 10 days, after two different courts rejected her request for bail. An official at the jail said that she is planning to write a book called 'The Story of an Unfortunate Mother'.
Aarushi Talwar, 13, was found with her throat slit in her bedroom in May 2008. The initial suspect was the family's missing domestic help, Hemraj, a man from Nepal. But he was discovered dead on the Talwars' terrace hours later. The murder weapons used to kill Aarushi and Hemraj have never been found. In 2010, the CBI asked for permission to close the case because it did not have enough evidence to formally charge anyone with the double murder. Despite that statement, the CBI said it believed that Mr Talwar was guilty. The judge handling the case in Ghaziabad then said that the Talwars would be tried for murder, criminal conspiracy and destruction of evidence.
The Talwars have appealed against that verdict in the Supreme Court, which has taken up the case. The defence team argued today about how some evidence was overlooked by magistrate while charging the Talwars with murder. The CBI will present its side of the case tomorrow. Mrs Talwar's bail plea was not heard by the court today.
Additional Solicitor General Harin Rawal, who represented the CBI in this case, will not argue for the agency in the court today. Sources say Mr Rawal withdrew from the case quoting personal reasons. But it may be recalled that during the last hearing of the case, his arguments invited a rap from the court - "Don't threaten the court," he was told. Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra will now represent the agency in his place.