Aarushi trial: Talwars are 'freaks who became killers of their own progeny', says judge

The dentist couple were convicted yesterday of killing their 14-year-old daughter and the family's housekeeper in a sensational case that has transfixed India since the girl was found with her throat slit in 2008. Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, from Noida, will be sentenced today.As Special CBI Judge Shyam Lal pronounced them guilty, the Talwars broke down, lawyers later said.

Justice, at last: After five years, the investigations in the murder come to an end and Aarushi's parents now await sentencing, which will take place today

In his 204-page verdict, Judge Shyam Lal said, "The parents are the best protectors of their own children. That is the order of the human nature but there have been freaks in the history of mankind where the father and the mother became the killer of their own progeny.

What comes next? Rajesh and his wife Nupur Talwar arrive at Dasna Prison, Ghaziabad after the judge found them guilty of killing Aarushi and Hemraj. Pic/AFP

They (Talwars) have extirpated their own daughter who hardly had seen 14 summers of her life and the servant without the compunction of terrestrial terrain in the breach of commandment ‘thou shall not kill' and injunction of Holy Quran ‘take not life which God has made sacred'."

But the couple insisted that they were innocent and vowed to fight for justice. Immediately after the judgment, the Talwars said in a statement released by their lawyer that they were ‘deeply disappointed'.

"We are deeply disappointed, hurt and anguished for being convicted for a crime that has not been committed. We refuse to feel defeated and will continue to fight for justice," the statement said.

They could face the death penalty. Soon after, police took away the doctors to the Dasna prison in Ghaziabad district. The double-murder in a suburban pocket of the capital became one ofthe most closely-watched whodunits in recent memory in the country.

"Everybody turned against us," Vandana Talwar, a family member, told reporters, blaming the media, police and the court following a case that has lasted more than five years. "We have only the truth on our side."

Aarushi (14) and domestic help Hemraj (45) from Nepal, were found murdered at the Talwars' plush residence in Noida bordering Delhi in May 2008. Aarushi was found dead with her throat slit and the head battered on May 16.

In the hours after the teenager, Aarushi, was found dead in her bedroom, police named the Talwars' missing Nepali housekeeper, Hemraj, as the prime suspect. They even dispatched a team to Nepal to look for him.

But the housekeeper wasn't missing -- his body was discovered lying on a terrace above Aarushi's room. It had been there the whole time.

The Talwars came under suspicion early on, and police said the manner of the girl's death suggested she was killed with surgical precision, a clear nod to the Talwars' medical profession.u00a0

"The way in which Aarushi's throat was cut points out that it was the work of some professional, who could be a doctor or a butcher," a top police official, Brij Lal, had told reporters in 2008.

The CBI first gave a clean chit to the Talwars and arrested the lab assistant of the Talwars and two others.

But they were released on bail after no concrete evidence was found against them. Facing flak over the inept investigation, then CBI director Aswani Kumar formed a new team. It was this team that again pointed the finger at the Talwars.

The latest trial got over on November 12 -- almost after 19 months -- during which the CBI presented about 90 witnesses to prove that the parents were guilty. The Talwars maintain they did not kill their daughter or domestic help and that the CBI conclusions were based on presumptions, conjectures and surmises.

Police offered several possible motives, including an honour killing. Rebecca John, the Talwars' lawyer said the couple was "deeply disappointed" by the verdict. John said she had drawn the court's attention to the botched up investigation of the case.
"We will appeal against the verdict within 60 days," John said.

‘This is a miscarriage of justice'
The Talwar family expressed dissatisfaction over the judgment of the special CBI court yesterday holding Rajesh and Nupur Talwar guilty of killing their only daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj in 2008 and said they will appeal to a higher court.
Rajesh Talwar's brother Dinesh said, "He and the family is not happy with the judgment. We believe it's a miscarriage of justice."

Dinesh Talwar said that the points proving innocence of the dentist couple were concealed by the CBI and were not producedbefore court. He also said that the scientific evidence collected by the CBI had also revealed that the killings were done by one of the three servants -- Krishna, Vijay Mandal and Raj Kumar -- but CBI did not inform the court about this.

"The golf stick number 5, which was presented before court as a clue by the CBI was not washed, but the investigating agency informed the court that the stick was washed," said Dinesh Talwar.

"CBI informed the court that Aarushi and Hemraj's neck was slit by a scalpel, a surgical blade, but the injury was made with an object like a cleaver," he added. Dinesh claimed there were much evidence that was not produced before the court.

"We could not get justice today, now we will move to higher court," he said. Aarushi's aunt Vandana Talwar said that she is very disappointed with the judgment. "Rajesh and Nupur have been framed because of their innocence," she said.

Talwars kept in separate special jail cells
Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, convicted by a CBI court yesterday for murdering their teenaged daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj in 2008, have been kept in separate special cells at the Dasna Jail here, an official said.

"The Talwar couple has been kept in separate special cells in the jail, which will be out of reach for other inmates. Due to security reasons, they will be kept separate from other inmates forsome days," said Dasna Jail Superintendent Viresh Raj Sharma.

He added, "After their medical examination, both of them were taken to their respective cells. Each of them have been given a blanket, a rug, a mug and a plate."u00a0

Timeline

May 16, 2008
Schoolgirl Aarushi Talwar's body found at home with throat slit and a fatal head wound

May 17, 2008
Body of domestic help Hemraj found on the roof of the house

May 23, 2008
Father Dr Rajesh Talwar arrested

May 29, 2008
Case handed over to CBI

July 11, 2008
Dr Rajesh Talwar granted bail

Dec 29, 2010
CBI wants to close the case due to ‘lack of evidence'

Jan 25, 2011
Dr Rajesh Talwar attacked by a man with meat cleaver

April 2011
CBI says ‘only parents could have killed Aarushi'

June 8, 2012
Trial beginsu00a0