Police on the hunt for Aarushi's mom

The CBI is searching for dentist Nupur Talwar, an accused in the murder of her teenaged daughter Aarushi Talwar, after a special Ghaziabad court issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against her for not appearing for a hearing of the case.

On the run? Nupur and her husband Rajesh Talwar have been accused by the CBI of being involved in the May 2008 murder of their teenage daughter (below) Aarushi. File pic

"A team had gone to arrest Nupur Talwar at her residence, but she was not found there. A hunt is on to nab her and she might be arrested late in the night," said a CBI officer. The officer said that the CBI would execute the court's order and arrest Nupur Talwar if she is found. Search was carried out at the Talwars' Azad Apartments residence in south Delhi by a team of officers wearing blue jackets, with CBI emblazoned on them.

The court of Special Judicial Magistrate (CBI) Priti Singh issued the NBW after Nupur Talwar failed to appear for a hearing. Her dentist husband Rajesh Talwar, also an accused in the case, appeared before the court. Nupur Talwar submitted an application before the court through her lawyer saying that since her review petition was to be heard by the Supreme Court on April 27, she could not turn up before the court yesterday. Opposing her application, the CBI claimed that Nupur Talwar was willfully evading her appearance before the court.

At a hearing on March 14, Nupur Talwar moved an application citing an Allahabad High Court order asking the CBI court to expeditiously hear her bail plea and asking her to appear before the trial court within 30 days. On April 5, the CBI filed an application before the high court to recall its March 14 order on the ground that Nupur Talwar had obtained it by concealing material facts.

While on April 9, the high court suspended the order in the presence of Nupur Talwar's counsel and directed her to file her reply to the recall application within two weeks."Neither the high court nor the Supreme Court has granted exemption to her from appearing before the court. There is no protection granted by the court to her. She is deliberately evading her appearances. On hearing our plea, the court issued NBW against her," CBI counsel RK Saini said after yesterdays hearing.

The Ghaziabad court, during the March 14 hearing, allowed Rajesh Talwar's to be on bail till April 11. The next hearing is on April 18.u00a0Aarushi, 14, was found dead inside her Noida residence in May 2008 with her throat slit. The body of the Talwars' domestic servant Hemraj, initially a suspect in the case, was recovered from the terrace a day later.