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Talwar couple get life term for Aarushi murder
Our Correspondent & PTI

Ghaziabad, November 26
The Ghaziabad special CBI court today sentenced Rajesh (49) and Nupur Talwar (48) to life imprisonment for killing their daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj in May 2008.

Nupur Talwar

Rajesh Talwar

CBI special judge Shyam Lal further awarded the doctor-couple five years in jail for destruction of evidence. Rajesh Talwar was also given one-year jail term for providing false information and lodging a false FIR, said CBI lawyer RK Saini.

All sentences pronounced by the judge, who relied heavily on circumstantial evidence provided by the CBI, will run concurrently.

The CBI lawyers earlier sought death sentence for the two arguing that the killing was a cold-blooded murder and fell in the rarest-of-rare category. The defence lawyers pleaded for minimum punishment of life imprisonment for the couple. The judge observed that the case could not come under the rarest-of-rare category.

The arguments lasted just five minutes before the judge adjourned proceedings and pronounced the quantum of sentence at 4.30 pm. The Talwar couple remained composed.

On Monday, the CBI court had convicted the Talwars under Sections 302 (murder), 201 (destruction of evidence) and 34 (common intention to commit the crime) of the Indian Penal Code. Rajesh was also convicted separately for “furnishing false information” to the police regarding the murder of his daughter by Hemraj (Section 203).

“It is serious miscarriage of justice. Definitely it will be examined. We will appeal in the Allahabad High Court. The verdict is unsustainable in the court. There has been a witch-hunt,” said Talwars’ counsel Rebecca John.

Aarushi (14) was found murdered in her bedroom on May 16, 2008. Hemraj was initially suspected of killing her but his body was found on the terrace a day later. The Noida police then arrested Rajesh Talwar claiming he committed the murders in a fit of rage after finding them in an objectionable position.

The investigation was subsequently handed over to the CBI, which suspected the hand of three servants.

But the investigating agency filed a closure report saying though it suspected the role of parents, there wasn’t enough evidence to nail them.

The CBI court rejected the closure report and directed the agency to file a charge-sheet against the couple.

The sentence

The Talwars have been awarded life term for the double murder

The couple have been further sentenced for five years for destruction of evidence

Rajesh has been given another year in jail for filing a false FIR; all sentences will run concurrently

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