Ghaziabad: Four years since 14-year-old Aarushi Talwar and her family's domestic help Hemraj were found murdered at their Noida residence, a Ghaziabad court on Thursday will formally frame charges against her parents Rajesh and Nupur in the double murder case.
Holding that there is prima-facie evidence, a local court in Ghaziabad on Thursday ordered framing of charges of murder and destruction of evidence against the dentist couple. The court also ordered framing of additional charge of misleading the investigations against Rajesh, who had filed a police complaint at Noida police station that his 14-year old daughter was murdered by domestic help Hemraj.
In his six-page order, Additional District Judge Shyam Lal said there is enough prima-facie evidence to start trial against accused Nupur and Rajesh Talwar under charges of Section 302 read with Section 34 (murder with common intention) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 201 read with Section 34 (destruction of evidence with common intention) of the IPC. He said Rajesh should also be charged under section Section 203 of the IPC.
Reacting to the court's order, Talwars' lawyer Rebecca John said, "The CBI never made any murder charges against Talwars in its closure report." She said it's unfortunate that the parents have to prove their innocence now.
"No one has any answer to what evidences the Talwars have destroyed," said Rebecca.
After the pronouncement of the order, CBI special prosecutor RK Saini said once the charges are framed, the court would fix a date for producing evidence in the case.
During the arguments on the framing of charges, the CBI had asked for Sections 302, 201, 203, 34 of the Indian Penal Code to be applied. These include charges of murder, false FIR, destruction of evidence and misleading the court and the probe.
The CBI had claimed the Talwars' maid, the guard and driver corroborate their 'last scene theory' according to which there were four people living in the house and there was no sign of a fifth person's entry at the time of the murders. The CBI counsel had said, "Four people were there, two died and two were left. When a murder takes place in a closed house and two are dead, then the onus shifts on those who are alive."
The CBI had also claimed that Aarushi and Hemraj's injuries were identical. "The golf stick recovered from the house matches the injury. The Talwars refused to identify Hemraj's body and gave false information regarding the crime scene," the CBI counsel said.
The Talwars' counsel had, however, claimed there was no direct evidence to prove the charges that the CBI claimed against the Talwars.
The CBI had also told the court in Ghaziabad that Rajesh and Nupur killed Aarushi and Hemraj in a fit of rage after finding them in a compromising position, a claim strongly refuted by the dentist couple.
Talwars had contested CBI's claim, saying sex is no big deal in elite society and does not entail murders.
Aarushi was found dead with her throat slit at her Noida residence in Jalvayu Vihar on May 16, 2008 and the body of Hemraj was recovered from the terrace a day later.
(With additional inputs from PTI)
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