Aarushi's vaginal swabs substituted with another woman's: CBI

The Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), Hyderabad, has revealed that the vaginal swab slides submitted to it by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) “did not belong to Aarushi”. The sensational disclosure is bound to turn the murder case on its head.

On May 16, 2008, Aarushi Talwar, the 15-year-old daughter of a dentist couple, was found murdered in her Noida flat. Many hours later, the family servant’s body was also found. The Uttar Pradesh police accused her father, Rajesh, of committing both murders. When the CBI was handed over the case, it exonerated Talwar, and instead blamed other family servants and relatives.

CDFD director Dr Gowrishankar J told DNA on Friday that they have been able to establish through DNA fingerprinting that the vaginal swabs were of some other woman.

A senior Indian Police Service officer posted with the UP police said: “If the vaginal swab slides have been changed, it could not have been the job of the three servants who were charged by the CBI.” But someone more powerful and scientifically aware replaced the swab to save the guilty.

It is not clear whether the CBI, acting on the report, has initiated an investigation into the tampering of evidence. It has refused to reveal whether it has questioned the Noida doctors and police officers who were part of the initial probe.

A senior CBI officer probing the case said: “We have nothing to say. Whatever we have found will be submitted to the Supreme Court.”