A day after a special court in Ghaziabad issued warrants against Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, parents of murdered Noida girl Aarushi, CBI on Tuesday told the Allahabad High Court that there was “sufficient evidence to initiate proceedings” against the dentist couple.
CBI counsel Nazrul Islam Jafri and Anurag Khanna told the court that there was no error of judgement on the part of the special court in having summoned the couple who had, however, not been named as suspects in the probe agency’s closure report.
The arguments came during the hearing on a petition filed by the Talwars challenging the special CBI court’s decision to initiate proceedings against them in connection with the murder of their teenaged daughter three years ago.
The CBI counsel submitted before the court that the couple had “failed” to identify the body of Hemraj, their domestic help, which was found on the terrace of their house hours after Aarushi was found murdered inside her room.
They also alleged that earlier, when the keys to the door of the terrace were sought by the police, the Talwars had refused to provide the same.
Besides, CBI said that by the time the police reached the Talwars’ house on hearing about the murder, Aarushi’s room had been cleaned up and call details of her mobile phone deleted.
Government Advocate D.R. Chaudhary submitted “an investigating agency was not bound by the opinions expressed by the investigating officer in closure report” and hence the Talwars’ argument that since the CBI closure report had not named them as suspects they should not be subjected to trial was not valid.
After hearing the arguments, Justice Bala Krishna Narayana adjourned the hearing till Thursday and said the petitioners may in the meanwhile file their rejoinder.
