CBI won't file chargesheet in Aarushi case

NEW DELHI: Conceding its failure to investigate the murders of teenager Aarushi Talwar and her family help Hemraj, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday said it was not charging anybody with the sensational crime and announced a reward of Rs.100,000 for clues leading to the evidence.

Almost four months after Aarushi was found murdered in her Noida home on May 16 - Hemraj's body was found a day later - the CBI said it would not file a chargesheet in the case anytime soon and would not oppose bail for the accused.

The investigating agency was to submit its chargesheet before Sep 10, 2008 to meet the 90-day deadline since the first arrest in the case - that of Aarushi's father Rajesh Talwar on May 23.

“The investigation in the case would continue…. Section 167 CrPC (Criminal Procedure Code) gives right to every person in custody to be released on bail if no chargesheet is filed against him within 90 days of his custody.

“If the bail applications of the accused persons comes up in court, the full facts of the case will be presented before the court in a truthful, legal and professional manner by the CBI,” Deputy Inspector General of Police Neeraja Gotru told reporters here.

Gotru just fell short of saying that till now it had no material evidence to press  charges against Krishna, medical assistant of Aarushi's dentist father Rajesh Talwar, and Rajkumar, the domestic help of Talwars' family friends. The third accused in the case, Vijay Mandal, who also worked as a domestic help in the Noida neighbourhood of the Talwars, was granted bail by a CBI court in Ghaziabad last week.

The CBI, which has been unable to trace the murder weapon and the mobile phones of Aarushi and Hemraj, has now declared a reward of Rs.100,000 for anybody leading it to the crucial pieces of evidence.

“An award of one lakh (Rs. 100,000) rupees is announced to anyone giving further clue in this case, leading to recovery of the weapon of offence or mobile phone. The weapon used in this case was a heavy and sharp edged weapon, which could also be a 'khukri' (a curved dagger used in Nepal),” Khotru said.

Aarushi's mobile phone was a black Nokia N-72 mobile phone with a SIM card number 9910520630. Hemraj owned a Tata Indicom mobile set with number 9213515485.

The premier investigating agency is also probing the Nepal links of the accused to get to the crucial evidence.

“A letters rogatory, that is a letter of request is being sent to Nepal, seeking assistance in locating some witnesses and mobile phones of the deceased,” Khotru added.

The CBI, which took over the case May 31, has accused Krishna, Rajkumar and Vijay Mandal in the double murders on the basis of their narco-analysis tests - the only basis of the CBI's probe that is not admissible as evidence in the court.

In a bid to give credence to the series of scientific tests -- the lie detector tests, the polygraph tests and the narco-analysis tests - on all the three accused the agency brought in a lie detector expert to explain the various parameters.

Aarushi was found killed with her throat slit in her Noida home May 16. The Noida police initially blamed family help Hemraj but backtracked after his body too was found a day later on the terrace of the apartment.

Aarushi's dentist father was arrested a week later.

On July 11, CBI director Arun Kumar gave a clean chit to Talwar and accused Krishna, Rajkumar and Vijay Mandal.

On Tuesday, a special CBI court in Ghaziabad rejected the bail plea of Raj Kumar. Earlier, on Sep 4 last week, bail had been given to Vijay Mandal. The third accused Krishna's bail plea has been deferred to Sep 19 by the court.