On the morning of May 16, 2008(Mon), Aarushi Talwar (May 24, 1993 - May 15, 2008), the 14-yearold

daughter of a successful dentist couple, was found dead with her throat slit in her parents' home at Jalvayu Vihar in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. Suspicion immediately fell on the family's live-in manservant, Yam Prasad Banjade alias Hemraj, a 45-yr-old Nepalese national, who was found missing from the home. Declaring Hemraj as the prime suspect, the Noida police announced a reward for information leading to Hemraj's apprehension and arrest. In addition, a police party was dispatched to his hometown in Nepal, in hopes of apprehending him there. A post-mortem was conducted on Aarushi's body on May 17, 2008. A retired Noida police officer, accompanying a relative of the Talwars, visited the Talwars' home to express his condolences, and during his visit, detected blood stains on the stairs leading to the terrace of the flat. Following the trail of blood, Noida police detected the dead body of the missing domestic help, Hemraj, on the terrace. After a disorganised and long-drawn investigation, the police arrested Dr. Rajesh Talwar, the father of the deceased girl, on May 23, 2008, charging him with having committed the double murder. His wife, Dr. Nupur Talwar, accused the Noida police of framing him, and requested Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati to transfer the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The Central Bureau of Investigation took over the investigation into the murders of Aarushi and Hemraj on June 1, 2008, forming a 25-member team in an attempt to crack the case. Soon after the CBI took over the case, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati gave transfer orders to senior police officers who were part of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that had previously been in charge of the investigation, including the Noida Senior Superintendent of Police, Satish Ganesh, and Meerut Inspector General, Gurdarshan Singh. In addition, the deputation of CBI officer Arun Kumar, formerly a member of the Uttar Pradesh Police, who was in charge of the investigation also ended in July, 2008.[1].

Shoddy Investigation

CBI investigators charged the Noida police with a shoddy investigation, which, it claimed, had resulted in the destruction of 90% of the evidence on the crime scene. Aside from not capturing the finger prints on the whisky bottles in Hemraj's room, the police allowed the media to freely roam the crime scene rather than restricting access to the flat. In addition, the police allowed doctors, not specifically trained in forensic pathology, to conduct the autopsies of Hemraj and Aarushi. While it is established procedure to lift fingerprints (of both murderers and victims) from the skin of the victims.[8] the doctors entrusted with the autopsies neglected to call forensic scientists to lift fingerprints from the cadavers. On August 11, 2008, the CBI reported that it had evidence pointing to the presence of a fifth person in the house at the time of

the murders, as finger prints not matching any of the suspects or occupants of the house were found on the whisky bottles. Experts at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), who are working closely with the CBI, have raised questions over one entry in Arushis post mortem report. The report, dated May 16 and prepared by Sunil Dore for the Noida police, mentions whitish discharge from the vagina which AIIMS doctors say wasnt investigated. They have raised this issue with the CBI. It is the duty of the doctors and the investigating officer to collect all biological evidence. As per law, it is mandatory to write about it in the post mortem report which is legal evidence. But in this case no further investigation was done on the evidence that they got from natural orifices, Sudhir Gupta, associate professor, forensic medicine, AIIMS, told The Indian Express. The post mortem report says that various organs including stomach with contents, samples from small intestine, gall bladder, spleen and one kidney were preserved, sealed and sent for examination to rule out poisoning. However, the report doesnt mention whether a vaginal swab was sent for further investigation, said Gupta. The whitish discharge could be attributed to several causes, from a fungal infection, common at this age, to even sexual assault. But in a murder case, this was a serious biological finding which required deliberation. No such type of biological evidence was collected and sealed by the doctor who prepared the autopsy, he added.

The Noida double murder case, in which 14-year-old Aarushi Talwar and her domestic help Hemraj died last month, has caught the nation's attention.

Every evening for the last month Ajay Chandra has been hooked on to news channels for updates on the Noida double murder case, which killed 14-year-old Aarushi and domestic help, Hemraj.

What Ajay misses on TV, he tries to get from the newspapers, even when his friends visit there's been only one topic of conversation for sometime now.

"I've been really curious ever since this case started so I've started watching news more often than I used to," said Ajay.

Miles away from Delhi in Madurai down south, Georgina, a college student is always looking for latest updates on the case.

She said, "Though this happened in Delhi. I am really interested in the outcome. Who is the killer? What happened?"

Everyone seems anxious to know what is happening and are hope the culprit is caught soon.

First there was the character assassination of the girl that gained sympathy. Then all the theories about the father that are not even seen in serials grabbed everyone's interest.

In an interesting statistic on May 23, when Aarush's father, Dr Rajesh Talwar was arrested, ratings on news channels shot up to more than the IPL match between Mohali and Hyderabad.

Not surprisingly, even a month after the murders the smallest update in the investigation continues to make headlines and the audience is still hooked on.

"The nature of the case. It has something for everyone, caters to every strata of society," said Sevanti Ninan, media critic.

Many say it could also be the way the case has been covered in the national media, almost exaggerating every twist and turn.

"This is the way it is done in the west which has a longer history of television and TV news. Crime coverage is always tabloidish to get the eyeballs," said Sevanti.

Even Mumbai's entertainment industry reacted predictably by announcing a new serial and a film on Aarushi's murder.

But there are some who say they have had enough now on the case. But these voices are drowned in the overwhelming media coverage.

But for many, the desire to solve the mystery is so intense that the CBI, which is handling the case gets hundreds of calls everyday.

An 80-year old man called the CBI soon after they took over and told them how to go about investigating the case and who to question.

A Muscat resident called the CBI with his own theory - that Hemraj sedated the Talwar family and then himself got killed after a fight with his associates

After a month, the investigators may not have all the answers yet but solving the "whodunnit" seems to have become a national obsession.

AFTER SIX days of searching in the dark and making confounding statements, the Noida police on Friday (May 23) finally announced that they had solved the Noida double murder case. But the fact is that they have no solid proof except circumstantial evidence to back their claims that Rajesh Talwar, Aarushis father, is the real killer.

Police stated in a press conference held on Friday that the father was having an extra-marital affair with Dr Anita Durrani, a dentist who he used to work with in his private clinic; Aarushi apparently did not approve of the illicit affair. Meanwhile, Durrani is also under interrogation.

Its quite unconventional that the police still dont have a witness, a clear motive, the murder weapon or any other well defined evidence to support their claims.

Though the police have cited cell phone records as evidence but have failed to trace the cell phones of Hemraj and Aarushi. Nor is there any trace of the hammer and surgical knife that is supposed to have been used for the murders.

The role that Aarushis mother, Dr Nupur Talwar, played in the murder perhaps will be more vital for the Noida police, who have been inconsistent and undecided about her role. First, it was said that she had been drugged, then it was stated that she was sleeping in her room at the time of the

murders and now the police is saying that she might have been associated, if not in the murder then surely in the cover up.

Though Noida police have held Aarushis father the main accused, but still the details provided by the police are quite contradictory. There are many loopholes in their statements. First Hemraj was thought to have murdered Aarushi. Later Inspector-General of Police, Meerut Zone, Gurdarshan Singh, said that Hemraj, the domestic help at the Talwar household, was killed before Aarushi.

The IG also said that Dr Rajesh killed Aarushi as she was aware and objected to his extramarital relationship with Durrani. Singh even said that when Dr Rajesh returned home on the night of May 15, he found Aarushi in an objectionable but not compromising position with Hemraj. This angered him, and this could have led to the murder, indicating it to be a case of honour killing.

So was it Aarushis knowledge of her fathers affair and her remonstration towards it, or her alleged intimacy with Hemraj that led to the gruesome murders? Or were there two motives behind the murder? What was the role of Nupur Talwar, the girls mother, in all this? If Rajesh Talwar killed Hemraj on the terrace, where did the bloodstains on the staircase come from?

Meanwhile, Rajesh Talwar has been saying that he is being framed by one Dinesh Varma. Rajeshs brother is also a Dinesh, but he is Dinesh Talwar. So who is this Dinesh Varma that Rajesh is speaking of?

The case is indeed very complex and the way the Noida Police have handled it has made it even more complex. There are many layers to it. The police has also said that more than two people are involved in the murders and more investigations, interrogations and arrests are expected.

NEW DELHI: The sensational Aarushi murder case took a new twist today with CBI raising doubts over the role of Rajesh and Nupur Talwar alleging that they had tried to influence the doctor who conducted the postmortem on their 14-year-old daughter in 2008, a charge rubbished by the dentist couple.

In its 30-page closure report submitted to a Ghaziabad court on December 29, the CBI said that Rajesh and Nupur had Aarushi's room washed up after asking the UP Police to rush to the railway station to nab their domestic help Hemraj on May 16th morning.

Aarushi was murdered in the intervening night of May 15-16 in 2008 at the Talwars' residence in Noida. Hemraj was found dead on the terrace the next day.

Aarushi's parents had tried to "influence" the doctor who conducted the postmortem in a Noida hopsital, the CBI said.

"Its absolutely bizarre and absurd allegation by the CBI. We are the one pushing for the investigations," Nupur said.

Accusing the CBI of "cover up" of the shoddy probe by the UP police, she said that neither she nor her husband even knew where the postmortem was being conducted and that the UP police had taken over the crime scene early morning when the body of their daughter was found.

CBI said the dimension of the wound on Aarushi's head was similar to one on the golf club owned by Rajesh, adding it was handed over by the couple after intense grilling, a year after the incident.

However, Nupur claimed that she was the one who produced the golf club on her own and that the CBI had never asked for it.

"The conduct of the parents has been suspicious," the CBI, which has come under intense criticism in the wake of its closure report, said.

The report said Talwar was named as an accused but could not be chargesheeted because of "insufficient evidence".

Asked why the CBI had not proceeded against Rajesh and Nupur on the basis of their findings, senior CBI officials said that they could not zero in on any motive behind the murder. CBI could not proceed on the circumstantial evidence merely on the basis of conjectures.

About the three servants Krishna, Raj Kumar and Vijay Mandal the report said that they were found to be innocent during the investigations and hence the case against the trio should be treated as closed.

The report, while detailing the case, said there were no witnesses in the case other than the parents and Hemraj.

While the crime scene had not been preserved at all, the CBI, which took up the case on June 1, 2008, said things were pretty normal at Talwars' residence till 10.30pm on the fateful day as suggested in the video camera where some pictures had been clicked.

The father was hooked on the internet till midnight, the report said.

The CBI also highlighted the fact that it was unlikely that the murderer could have killed the victim and then wrapped her body properly in a bed sheet.

The report claimed that the dentist had asked UP police team to rush after Hemraj rather than giving them sufficient time to secure the scene of crime.

It also claimed that Rajesh had failed to immediately identify the body of Hemraj found on the terrace.

It mentioned that there was no forced entry into the house and even the door of Aarushi was like that of a hotel room which could be opened either from inside or with a key from outside. The keys of the room were with the mother of the victim, the report said.

The narco-analysis and polygraph tests of the dentist couple were "inconclusive", it said.

On the role of servants, who have been given clean chit after the investigations, the CBI report said while one of them Rajkumar (domestic help of family friend Durrani) was at the railway station from 11:30pm, to receive Durrani's wife and was accounted for till 1am.

Krishna was detained from his residence by the UP police while he was sleeping, the report said, adding there were eyewitnesses to suggest that he was all along at his home on that night.

The narco-tests of the three servants were also of "disputed nature", the report claimed.

On the missing mobile phones, they said the cell phones which were claimed to have been destroyed by the servants were found activated within three months raising doubts about the tests.

In related developments, Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily met CBI director A P Singh during which the senior police official briefed him about the case. The minister wanted the agency to take the case seriously.

Talwar's counsel Rebecca John welcomed Moily's statement saying "if the law minister has made a statement asking for an explanation from the CBI, we welcome that reaction."

Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar also said that she was "worried" about the recent developments. "This is an important issue. We are worried about it...that a child was murdered and why she is not getting justice... we should think seriously," she said.

The National Commission for Women shot off letters to the Home Minister and the Law Minister seeking a re-look at the case.

Read more: Aarushi murder case: Rajesh and Nupur tried to influence doctor, says CBI - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Aarushi-murder-case-Rajesh-and-Nupur-triedto-influence-doctor-says-CBI/articleshow/7196859.cms#ixzz1CLLr6ahM

According to the testimony of Patsy Ramsey, on December 26, 1996, she discovered her daughter was missing after finding on the kitchen staircase a two-and-a-half-page ransom note demanding $118,000 for her safe returnalmost the exact value of a bonus her husband had received earlier that year.[3] Despite specific instructions in the ransom note that police and friends not be contacted, she telephoned the police and called family and friends. The local police conducted a cursory search of the house but did not find any obvious signs of a break-in or forced entry. The note suggested that the ransom collection would be monitored and JonBent would be returned as soon as the money was obtained. John Ramsey made arrangements for the availability of the ransom, which a friend, John Fernie, picked up that morning from a local bank.

[edit]Police investigation In the afternoon of the same day, Boulder Police Detective Linda Arndt asked Fleet White, a friend of the Ramseys, to take John Ramsey and search the house for "anything unusual."[4] John Ramsey and two of his friends started their search in the basement. After first searching the bathroom and "train room", the three of them went to a "wine cellar" room where Ramsey found his daughter's body covered in her special white blanket. She was also found with a nylon cord around her neck, her wrists tied above her head, and duct tape covering her mouth.[4] The police were later claimed by observers to have made several critical mistakes in the investigation, such as not sealing off the crime scene and allowing friends and family in and out of the house once a kidnapping was reported.[4] Critics of the investigation have since claimed that officers also did not sufficiently attempt to gather forensic evidence before or after JonBent's body was found, possibly because they immediately suspected the Ramseys in the killing.[4] Some officers holding these suspicions reported them to local media, who began reporting on January 1 that the assistant district attorney thought "it's not adding up"; the fact that the body of the girl was found in her own home was considered highly suspicious by the investigating officers.[4] The results of the autopsy revealed that JonBent was killed by strangulation and a skull fracture. A garrote made from a length of tweed cord and the broken handle of a paintbrush had been used to strangle her; her skull had suffered severe blunt trauma; there was no evidence of conventional rape, although sexual assault could not be ruled out. The official cause of death was asphyxiation due to strangulation associated with craniocerebral trauma.

JonBent Patricia Ramsey (August 6, 1990 December 25, 1996) was an American child who was murdered at age 6 and attracted extensive media coverage. Such coverage often focused on her participation in child beauty pageants, her parents' affluence and various unusual aspects of the case as well as questions regarding police handling of the case. She was found dead in the basement of her parents' home in Boulder, Colorado, nearly eight hours after she was reported missing. The case is notable for both its longevity and the media interest it has generated. Commentators and Colorado law enforcement agencies considered the girl's parents and brother to be suspects, but they have been legally exonerated.[1][2] After several grand jury hearings, the case is still unsolved. In February 2009, the Boulder Police Department took the case back from the district attorney and re-opened the investigation.[3]