Did nobody kill Aarushi? CBI files closure report

Nearly two years and seven months and several botched up investigations later, the Aarushi Talwar murder case seemed set for an unceremonious burial on Wednesday when the CBI filed a closure report before the court, citing its probe had hit the dead end with no evidence to pursue the case.

Fourteen-year-old Aarushi was found dead with her throat slit in the Noida home of her dentist parents in the intervening night of May 15-16, 2008. The body of domestic help Hemraj was discovered on the terrace a day later.

The CBI, which had taken over the case after the Uttar Pradesh police and later the Delhi police failed to make any headway, said it found it impossible to reach any plausible conclusion because of lack of concrete forensic evidence at the crime scene to nail the culprits.

“The CBI on Wednesday filed a closure report. But as and when we get something related to the case, it will reopen the case,” said Binita Thakur, CBI’s spokesperson.

The designated court will fix the date for taking cognisance of the closure report. If accepted, the three suspects — Raj Kumar, Vijay Mandal and Krishna — will be set free. They are out on bail now. According to a CBI official, all the persons arrested so far in the case will be given a clean chit.

The probe agency’s move has left Aarushi’s parents - Rajesh Talwar and Nupur Talwar - devastated. “I am completely shocked. We tried everything. We underwent all tests so that there is no scope for any speculation,” Nupur said. They have decided to file an appeal against the closure report.

The sensational case took many curious turns before the CBI came into picture. The Uttar Pradesh police, who were looking into the case initially, had put a question mark on Aarushi’s character.

The Delhi police joined in later. The case was handed over to the CBI on June 1 on a request made by the victim’s parents.

The agency dished out many theories, all of which failed to lead to the culprit. In September last year, it reconstituted its special investigation team (SIT) following reports that the vaginal swabs of the teenaged victim may have been substituted.
During the same period, the Delhi police crime branch recovered Aarushi’s Nokia N72 mobile phone, a “crucial piece of evidence” in the case, from Uttar Pradesh’ s Bulandshahr town But the cell phone couldn’t help the sleuths join the dots and move closer to the killer.

— With PTI inputs