Aarushi's mobile found, but can it help?

New Delhi: Sixteen months after teenager Aarushi Talwar was found murdered in her own bed at her home in Noida, her mobile phone has been found. The Delhi police recovered the phone from Bulandshahar in Uttar Pradesh. It has been handed over to the CBI.

CBI will send the phone to a forensic lab, either in Andhra Pradesh or in Chandigarh, for expert analysis. However, the CBI has said that it won't divulge any information on the course of investigation as per now.

The phone's SIM card is missing. But it could help investigators to figure out who took the phone from Aarushi after she was killed.

What's been uncovered so far is that the phone ended up with Ram Phool, a sweeper in a village in Bulundshahar. The mobile was given to him by his sister, Kusum, who worked in Noida near the Talwars' house. She allegedly found it on the road. Ram Phool's wife, Bala, has confirmed that her husband has been taken away by the Delhi police for questioning.

The Delhi police crime branch has also picked up three people from Lucknow who Ram Phool made regular calls to using Aarushi's phone. They have been brought to Delhi for questioning and are likely to be handed over to the CBI by this evening.

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Thirteen-year-old Aarushi was murdered in May last year. A day later, her family's domestic help, Hemraj, was also discovered dead on the terrace of the Talwar home in Noida. The UP police first arrested Aarushi's father, Rajesh Talwar, for the double murder, but had to release him later, acknowledging that there was no evidence against him.

The case was handed over to the CBI, which insists that 3 domestic helpers are the killers. Krishna, an assistant of Rajesh Talwar's at his dental clinic; Rajkumar; and Vijay Mandal were arrested by the CBI for the murders but were also released on bail because the CBI admitted it had no evidence against them.

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Aarushi's parents have welcomed the news that their daughter's phone has been found. But here's what is perplexing. The CBI claims that Aarushi's phone was active since February. So why has it taken so long to find it? And given that Aarushi herself used the phone 16 months ago, it's not clear how much original data can be recovered, especially since the SIM card has not been found.