The initial arguments to frame charges against Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, the parents of murdered teenager Aarushi, finally began in a Ghaziabad court Tuesday afternoon.
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) prosecutor R.K. Saini submitted before the court of Special CBI Judge S. lal that the parents were responsible for killing their daughter and had “dressed up” the scene to cover up their crime. He cited this as the reason for charges to be framed against them.
Opposing the CBI plea, defence lawyer Vijay Pal Singh Rathi said: “The submission of the closure report itself is the evidence that there is no evidence against the Talwars. And most importantly, all the scientific tests conducted by the CBI go against against the investigation agency. Hence the CBI has failed to prove the crime. Neither the direct nor the circumstantial evidence support the CBI argument to frame the charges. Hence, Nupur and Rajesh Talwar should be discharged from the case.”
The court had Monday deferred the hearing in the 2008 twin murders of Aarushi and her family’s domestic help, Hemraj for Tuesday.
On May 16, the court had deferred the hearing till Monday to allow the CBI to provide documents to Aarushi’s parents.
The sessions court started the trial May 11, almost four years after the crime.
Also on May 16, the Supreme Court had reserved its verdict on Nupur Talwar’s petition seeking review of its Jan 6 order directing her and Rajesh Talwar to stand trial for the twin murders.
An apex court bench of Justice A.K. Patnaik and Justice J.S. Khehar had reserved the verdict on the conclusion of arguments by senior counsel Pinaki Misra, appearing for Nupur Talwar.
Misra assailed a Ghaziabad magistrate court’s order that rejected the closure report filed by the CBI in the double murder and took cognizance of the offence against the Talwars.
The CBI filed its closure report in December 2010 before the magistrate’s court in Ghaziabad.
The Talwars are facing charges of murder, conspiracy and destruction of evidence.
Aarushi, 14, was found murdered at her parents’ Noida residence May 16, 2008. The body of her family’s domestic help Hemraj was found the next day on the terrace of the house.
