Court reserves verdict on Talwar's bail plea

NEW DELHI: A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Thursday reserved its verdict on the bail plea of dentist Rajesh Talwar, accused of killing his teenaged daughter Aarushi Talwar and domestic help Hemraj.

The court, at its sitting in Ghaziabad town adjacent to the national capital, also asked the CBI to furnish the case diary to enable it decide on the bail plea.

The verdict came after the CBI sought the extension of Talwar's judicial custody by 14 days.

Talwar's counsel Satish Tamta vehemently opposed this, saying there was "no material evidence" to link the dentist to the crime.

"The CBI has not made Talwar an accused in the case. Therefore, he should be released on bail," Tamta argued.

Aarushi, 14, was found murdered in her upscale Jal Vayu Vihar apartment in suburban Noida May 16. The police initially named her family's domestic help Hemraj as the prime accused but backtracked when his body was found on the roof of the building the next day.

The Noida police arrested Aarushi's father on May 23, saying he killed his daughter in a fit of rage as he objected to her closeness with Hemraj.

The CBI had taken over the case June 1 after a public outcry over the shoddy manner in which the Noida police had investigated the case.

The CBI June 13 arrested Rajesh Talwar's compounder Krishna, claiming he had confessed to his involvement in the twin murders.