Aarushi murder case: Former CBI director says court stated what he said long back

Reacting to the Allahabad High Court’s acquittal of Rajesh and Nupur Talwar in the murder case of their daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj, former CBI director AP Singh said that court’s argument that evidence was insufficient to prosecute Talwars, is exactly what he had said in the beginning.

“The court has not said they are innocent, it has said it is giving them the benefit of the doubt," AP Singh said to NDTV.

"Only weakness we found was that scene of crime had been badly tampered on the 1st day itself. As a result, after that we got nothing of value from the scene of crime. That was the major lacuna in the entire investigation," said AP Singh.

AP Singh was heading the CBI when the agency had stated in the court that it thought that Talwars killed Aarushi but could not prove it and wanted to close the case.

Despite the agency’s desire to close the case, the judge of CBI court instead framed charges of murder and destruction of evidence against Rajesh and Nupur Talwar.

Aarushi was found dead inside her room in the Talwars’ Noida residence with her throat slit in May 2008. The needle of suspicion had initially moved towards 45-year-old Hemraj, who had gone missing but his body was recovered from the terrace of the house a day later.

As the Uttar Pradesh Police drew flak over shoddy investigation into the case which was making national headlines, the then chief minister Mayawati recommended a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).