Rajesh, Nupur Talwar guilty of killing daughter Aarushi, domestic help Hemraj

Zee Media Bureau/Supriya Jha New Delhi: In what was one of the most awaited verdicts, a special CBI court on Monday convicted the dentist couple Rajesh and Nupur Talwar of murdering their own child Aarushi Talwar and the domestic help Hemraj. The quantum of punishment will be announced tomorrow. The verdict in Aarushi-Hemraj double murder case comes after more than five years of mystery that has intrigued the investigating agencies and the people alike.

Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, parents of the slain teenager Aarushi Talwar, were convicted under IPC section 302 (murder), 201 (destruction of evidence) and 34 (common intent), said lawyer Naresh Yadav. Rajesh Talwar was also separately convicted under IPC section 203 for registering wrong FIR at Noida`s Sector 20 police station. As the judge looked at the Talwar couple and read out the verdict, both of them broke down in the court, said the lawyer. The Talwar couple has been taken to Ghaziabad`s Dasna jail where both of them will spend the night in different cells, reports said. Shortly after being convicted of the double murder, Talwar couple issued a statement saying, "We are deeply disappointed, hurt and anguished for being convicted for a crime that has not been committed." "We refuse to feel defeated and will continue to fight for justice." The verdict in one of the most sensational murder mysteries that the nation has ever witnessed came five years and six months after Talwars` 14-year old daughter Aarushi Talwar and servant Hemraj were found murdered on May 15-16, 2008 at their Jalvayu Vihar residence. The investigation into the intriguing double murder followed quiet a meandering trajectory unfolding various conspiracy theories which at one point of time also pointed at the involvement of three other people namely Krishna, Rajkumar (the domestic help of Talwar`s neighbour) and Vijay Mandal (the driver of the Talwars` neighbour). Reacting to the verdict, Aarushi`s aunt Vandana Talwar slammed the CBI and said that the judgement was pre-judiced. She said that there was no need for the trial to take place as the "minds were already made up" and it was pre-decided that the dentist couple will be announced guilty. She said that the truth was buried in layers and layers of lies to save the prestige of CBI. Aarushi`s aunt Vandana Talwar also added that the family had the right to appeal against the verdict in higher courts. “Everyone had turned against us… What do we have on our side? Only the truth... No one believes what we say because we are a family against the mighty CBI," she added.