In a dramatic turn of events, a CBI witness and maid of Rajesh and Nupur Talwar on Tuesday told the special CBI court here that she was “forced” by the probe agency to give statements in the sensational Aarushi-Hemraj murder case. On Monday, the part-time maid, Bharti Mandal, had told the court that the main doors of the Talwars’ house were locked from inside on the morning after the killings. The revelation came during her cross-examination by three defence counsel, including one of the counsel for the Talwars, Manoj Sishodia. Bharti, 35, told the court that “I am deposing what ever was taught to me by the CBI”.
After her disclosure, the probe agency’s counsel took Bharti outside the court prompting Shishodia to move an application seeking action against the CBI official who took away the witness. The court reserved the order on the application. “The witness is tutored. She did not give any statement of her own. This is the first time she is deposing before the court... Whatever she was taught by the CBI... whatever the witness deposed before the court in her examination, she did not give those statements before the CBI... She replied on every question in the cross examination,” Shishodia said.
Bharti in her cross-examination told the court that she did not receive any summons and never saw any CBI officer and no one came to her house. She was called for the first time to give a statement before the court yesterday, the maid said. She also said in her deposition that her “husband’s name is Vishnu Mandal” and not Bhim Singh as per the CBI records.
During the cross examination, when the defence counsel asked Bharti whether she gave any statement to the CBI to the effect that she had been living in Noida for 8 to 9 years, she answered that she did not give any statement like that.
“I do not know why the CBI has written my statement to the effect that I have been living in Noida area for about 8 to 9 years,” Bharti said during her cross examination.
She deposed before the court that she did not give statement to investigation officer that she rang up the outer door bell once and went to lift the washing cloth from the staircase but she gave this statement “before the camera”.