New Delhi:
It's one of the most crucial pieces of the jigsaw puzzle that makes up the Aarushi murder mystery. The 14-year-old schoolgirl's mobile has suddenly emerged in an obscure village of Uttar Pradesh, and not by the CBI but by the Delhi police.
There is no word on the other victim Hemraaj's phone which had also gone missing. NDTV's Anasuya Roy tracks the journey of the phone from Aarushi's home in Noida to Bulandshahr.
A special operations group of the Delhi Police Crime Branch, investigating an extortion racket in western Uttar Pradesh, came across Aarushi's unique cellphone IMEI number when they were tracking other mobiles related to their raids.
So once they got the number, the police tracked it to a man, Ram Bhool, a sweeper living in Bulanshahr. He has been using it intermittently for the last few months. The family claims Ram Bhool got the phone from his sister Kusum, a maid in Noida, where Aarushi's family used to stay.
Both Kusum and Ram are being questioned by the police. Reports also indicate that the Delhi Police is questioning three men in Lucknow whom Ram Bhool use to speak with frequently.
In June last year, the CBI had hired forensic scientists and cleaners to look for the phones all over this colony.
"God is listening to us. CBI has really worked hard on the case and has found something," said Nupur Talwar.
"Our expectations have risen from last few days. We are praying for development," said Rajesh Talwar.
Delhi police sources however doubt if any useful data can be retrieved from the phone.
According to sources, the phone's sim card is missing, there's no previous data in the phone. It is not clear how much data can be retrieved.
Questions are now being raised on the manner in which the CBI has been investigating the Aarushi-Hemraj double murder case. If Delhi Police Crime branch could locate the missing phone, in the remote village of Bulandshahr district, why couldn't CBI which is handling the case do the same?