Nupur and Rajesh Talwar being taken to court from Dasna jail in Ghaziabad
Five years after their daughter Aarushi and their domestic help were found dead at their home in Noida near Delhi, Nupur and Rajesh Talwar have been sentenced to life for the twin murders. (
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The CBI, which investigated the case, asked for the death sentence for the couple, who are both dentists. (
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They were found guilty yesterday of killing their only child, 13-year-old Aarushi, and their Nepalese domestic help, Hemraj, with a golf club in a fit of rage after finding them in "an objectionable position" at their apartment in 2008.
The case has been engulfed with allegations of police incompetence; supporters of the Talwars have accused the media of a witch-hunt.
The Talwars will appeal against the verdict and sentence in a higher court. But for now, they will return to the jail where they were taken yesterday. Officials said both parents have been refusing meals, and have spent hours quietly weeping.
In the absence of forensic or material evidence, the judge accepted the CBI's "last-seen theory" which holds that the victims were last seen with the Talwars.
When Aarushi was found dead, the police blamed Hemraj, who was missing. But his decomposing body was found on the roof a day later. Mr Talwar spent two months in jail before the CBI said it had no evidence against him.
Then, his dental assistant and two other domestic helpers -- Hemraj's friends - were arrested, but they were freed for lack of evidence.
The botched probe -- police failed to seal the crime scene or find Hemraj's for over 24 hours -- prompted investigators to close the case in 2010.
The Talwars insisted they wanted the killers found and petitioned the court to reopen the case - only to be charged with murder themselves