New Delhi:
A court has rejected - for now - an appeal by Aarushi Talwar's parents against the CBI's decision to end its investigation into the murder of their 13-year-old daughter and their domestic help, Hemraj. Both were murdered at the Talwar home in Noida on the night of May 15, 2008.
A court in Ghaziabad said the Talwars' appeal is premature, and that it wants a chance to go through the CBI's closure report - filed last week - and relevant documents.
This morning, the same court formally registered the controversial closure report. However, the CBI was reprimanded by the court for not providing all the relevant documents. "Why the hurry in filing the closure report?" asked the judge. (
Read: CBI gives up with closure report)
The court has also asked the Investigating Officer to submit all relevant documents, and set January 7 as the next hearing date of the case.
The report has sparked national outrage over the fact that the CBI accepts that this is a case that cannot be solved. The 30-page document also lists Aarushi's father - Rajesh Talwar - as the only suspect in the double murder, but says that the agency could not find enough evidence against him, or establish a motive. (
Read: CBI's closure report in Aarushi case)
Many have described the CBI's remarks against Rajesh, a dentist, as character assassination. He was in jail for three months after his daughter's death in May 2008, but was released three months later after the CBI acknowledged it had no evidence against him.
The fact that the agency has once again said that circumstantial evidence points to his involvement has provoked strong criticism from legal experts as well as Rajesh and his wife, Nupur. Their job was to find the killer of my daughter, not to condemn me for life," Aarushi's mother, Nupur Talwar lashed out at the CBI. (
Read: CBI condemned us for life, say Aarushi's parents)
"I have gone through each and every test available in this country. Is there anything else that I can do to prove my innocence? If there is, then I would want to do that," said Rajesh Talwar. (
Read: CBI allegations absurd, say Aarushi Talwar's parents)
Angry as they are, the Talwars have for now decided against suing the CBI, because their defence team feels the court may not entertain such a protest from someone still listed as a suspect in the closure report.
Aarushi was discovered dead in her bedroom on the morning of May 16, 2008. Her throat had been slit while her parents slept next door in their flat in Noida, a suburb of Delhi. The police and Aarushi's parents first suspected their domestic help, Hemraj, of having killed her. Hemraj was missing from the house. The police began searching for him, only to discover his dead body on the terrace of the Talwars' home on May 17. (
Read: Timeline of the case)