Ghaziabad:
The trial in the Aarushi Talwar murder case is likely to begin today at a court in Ghaziabad. Nupur Talwar, who is currently in jail, and her husband Rajesh, both of whom are accused of murdering their teenage daughter and their domestic help Hemraj, are likely to appear in court for the proceedings.
Judge Preeti Singh, who heads the Special CBI Court, which is handling the trial, was supposed to begin proceedings last week but scheduled the hearing for today. She may also initiate the process of transferring the case to a sessions court for the trial.
That trial for murder, destruction of evidence and criminal conspiracy was ordered last year by Judge Singh.
Meanwhile, Mrs Talwar, who spent almost all of last week at the Dasna Jail in Ghaziabad, would be hoping for relief from the Supreme Court which will hear her petition for bail today. She was refused bail by two courts in Ghaziabad last week. The Supreme Court had said that it would hear her petition on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. It had clubbed her request for bail with another application that asks for the trial of the Talwars to be cancelled.
Mrs Talwar and Rajesh - both dentists - were at home in May 2008 when their 13-year-old daughter Aarushi was killed. After discovering her body in her bedroom, they reported the case to the police. The initial suspect was the Talwars' missing domestic help, Hemraj, who was from Nepal. But a few hours later, his body was discovered on the Talwars' terrace.
Since then, despite any hard evidence, the Noida Police and later the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have said they believe that Rajesh Talwar is behind both murders. In December 2010, the CBI asked Judge Singh for permission to wrap up its investigation. It said it did not have proof against Mr Talwar but listed him as its main suspect. Judge Singh then said that both Rajesh and Nupur would be tried for murder.