New Delhi:
More than three years ago, Aarushi Talwar, 13, was found dead in her bedroom at her home in Noida near Delhi. Today, the Supreme Court will decide if her parents need to obey summons from a court that has declared them accused of her murder.
Rajesh and Nupur Talwar -both dentists- have argued that trying them for their only child's murder is incongruous with what the CBI has claimed- in December 2010, the investigating agency said in court that it wanted to close the case because it did not have enough evidence against anyone linked to the case. However, the CBI indicated that it believes Rajesh killed Aarushi. The court in Ghaziabad that's handling the trial said the CBI could not drop its investigation, and said Aarushi's parents should be considered the accused.
In May 2008, Aarushi was found in her bed with her throat slit. Hours later, the Talwars' domestic help, Hemraj, was discovered dead on their terrace. The Noida police which initially handled the case arrested Rajesh for the double-murder but released him a few months later after acknowledging there was no evidence against him. A blundering investigation included lapses in how evidence was destroyed, and the Noida Police was forced to hand over the case to the CBI.
The Talwars say that because the CBI has failed to solve the case, it has repeatedly tried to pin the double-murder on them. They point out that at different times, they have pushed for a more complex investigation - not the course of action that would be taken by people who are guilty, they say.