Aarushi murder remains a mystery two years on

NEW DELHI - It was a sensational murder that shocked the country and dominated media headlines and drawing room conversations for weeks. But two years on, the murder of 14-year-old Aarushi Talwar and her family domestic help Hemraj continues to remain an unsolved mystery.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is investigating the case, seems clueless yet about the twin murders and was tight-lipped about the probe.

“Investigations are on and I can’t say anything more,” CBI spokesperson Harsh Bhal told IANS Sunday, the second death anniversary of the teenager.

The CBI in September last year had 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 black Nokia N72 mobile phone, a crucial piece of evidence in the case, from Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr town.

“I think the mobile phone was an important evidence in the case and it will help in nabbing the culprit,” Aarushi’s father Rajesh Talwar said then.

Aarushi, the daughter of dentist parents Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, was found murdered mysteriously in their Jalvayu Vihar apartment in Noida May 16, 2008. The family’s domestic help, Hemraj, who was initially suspected for the murder, was found killed on their terrace a day later.

Rajesh Talwar was arrested and kept behind bars for 50 days in connection with the crimes, but was later let off because of lack of evidence against him.

After Rajesh Talwar was let off, the CBI arrested his medical assistant Krishna and two other domestic helps in the neighbourhood Raj Kumar and Vijay Mandal.

All of them were freed after a period of detention while the CBI continues to hunt for material evidence.

The investigating agency in January this year sought permission of a Ghaziabad court to conduct narco-analysis tests on Aarushi’s parents. They underwent the tests in Ahmedabad forensic laboratory in February.

“We have been waiting and we have been praying every day that something comes soon of the CBI. I am continuing to pray and hope that her killers will be arrested soon,” Aarushi’s mother Nupur Talwar had said earlier this year.