Aarushi Talwar murder: Nupur and Rajesh Talwar found guilty of murdering daughter, domestic help

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Ghaziabad, Nov 25, 2013(NDTV): Nupur and Rajesh Talwar were found guilty today of murdering their teen daughter Aarushi and their domestic help Hemraj at their home in May 2008. They were arrested and taken to Dasna jail in Ghaziabad; they will be sentenced tomorrow.

Lawyers present in court said the couple broke down after the judge found them guilty of murder. "We are deeply disappointed, hurt and anguished over the conviction. We refuse to feel disappointed and will continue to fight for justice," they said.Their lawyers said they will appeal against today’s verdict in a higher court.

India has been transfixed by the case partly because it involves a prosperous and educated family - the Talwars are both dentists.

Investigators claimed in court that Aarushi was killed in a fit of rage when her parents found her with Hemraj in an "objectionable" situation. The Talwars have insisted they are the victims of an investigation jutting with incompetence.

 

"We loved Aarushi, we have no lives without her. This has been a never-ending nightmare," Rajesh Talwar told news agency AFP in a recent interview outside the court in Ghaziabad where he was convicted today. 

The CBI has conceded that there is no forensic or material evidence against the couple, basing its case on the "last-seen theory" -- which holds that the victims were last seen with the Talwars.

On May 16, 2008, Rajesh Talwar told the police that Aarushi had been found dead in her bed  and that Hemraj, who lived with them, was missing.

The Noida Police declared the domestic help  was the suspect till hours later, when  his body was found on the Talwars’ roof.

The police’s handling of the case was an exercise in callousness and carelessness. At a press conference, a senior officer said Aarushi had been found in an objectionable position with Hemraj - a statement made without any proof and which equaled the character assassination of a young girl. The crime scene was not sealed - reporters and others were given access to the Talwar home and the roof where Hemraj was found.

The case  was  then transferred to the CBI.

Rajesh Talwar spent two months in jail before being granted bail after the CBI said in court that it had no evidence against him. Later, his wife Nupur was imprisoned for five months for ignoring orders to appear in court. 

The CBI then offered another theory - that  three other men, all known to Hemraj, had killed him after he tried to stop them from attacking Aarushi. The trio was arrested, but narco-anaylsis and lie detector tests proved inconclusive, and they were freed.

Unable to crack the case, the CBI in December 2010 asked for permission to close the case, but it once again raked up Mr Talwar as its primary suspect, kindling sharp criticism from legal experts who said the agency was indicting a man despite its own admission that it had no proof of his involvement.

However, the judge ruled that the Talwars would be tried for murder.