The CBI probe into the Aarushi-Hemraj murder case has reportedly revealed that the three domestic helps, who were till now the prime suspects in the case, were not even present on the crime scene.
According to sources, when Aarushi, the 14-year-old daughter of dentist couple Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, was murdered at her parents’ home at Jalvayu Vihar in Noida in the intervening night of May 15-16, 2008, Krishna (Dr Rajesh Talwar’s lab assistant), Rajkumar (the domestic help of the Talwars’ friend Durrani) and Vijay Mandal (the domestic help of the Talwars’ neighbour) were not present there at all. The body of the Talwars’ domestic help, Hemraj, was found on the terrace the next day. Sources said the CBI probe has also revealed that the family members of the deceased allegedly tried to influence the doctor who conducted the post-mortem examination of Aarushi’s body. “The investigation has revealed that Aarushi was murdered between 12 midnight and 1 am on the intervening night of May 15-16, 2008. The body of the deceased had already been wrapped in a bedsheet by the time the Noida police reached there,” sources said. When the case was handed over to the CBI, almost all vital evidence (including biological and forensic evidence) had already vanished because of contamination of the crime scene, the sources added. The probe has reportedly revealed that there was no sign of a forced entry into the house and the room in which Aarushi was found was like that of a hotel room which can be opened either from inside or with a key from outside. The room keys were with the Aarushi’s parents, the sources claimed. The agency, during the course of investigation, also questioned the deceased girl’s relatives, including her parents, cousin and the priest who had performed Aarushi’s last rites. CBI officials also questioned Dr Rajesh Talwar’s elder brother, Dr Dinesh Talwar, his wife and their child in connection with the probe,
sources added. The CBI had also carried out narco-analysis tests on Nupur and Rajesh Talwar between February 8 and 20 this year at the Gandhinagar forensic laboratory. The tests proved inconclusive, sources said, adding the agency could not find evidence against the parents.
The CBI failed to find any concrete clue which could help investigators solve the double murder. Agency officials had questioned some of the Noida policemen who were involved in the probe and had taken blood samples from the murder sites. However, the blood samples collected by the agency from the crime scene, and also from the wine bottles recovered from inside the Talwar residence, were contaminated, sources added.
Sources in the agency indicated that the possibility of tampering with evidence in the case could not be ruled out. The forensic examination of the vaginal swabs taken from the victim at the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics in Hyderabad reportedly revealed that those too were contaminated, sources said, adding that a virginity test was not conducted on the deceased by the doctor who conducted the post-mortem. It is still not clear whether the concerned doctor was asked not to conduct a virginity test, sources added. “Investigations by the agency have also proved that the body of the deceased bore a cut mark caused by a sharp weapon. The motive behind the incident is still not clear,” sources added.