Final arguments in Aarushi-Hemraj murder case begin

The prosecution Thursday began its final arguments in the Aarushi-Hemraj double murder case after a special court here turned down the plea of the Talwar couple's lawyer for more time to place some additional evidence on record.

Satyaketu Singh, lawyer for the accused and Aarushi's parents, Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, sought time till Oct 21 to place results of some forensic tests of servants on record before final arguments take place. Special CBI Court Judge S. Lall, however, allowed prosecution to begin its arguments.

Counsel for Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) told the court that the murdered teenager's body bore two types of injuries - one caused by a blunt object and the second by a sharp-edged one. According to the agency, circumstantial evidence showed that the blunt injury was caused by a golf club.

The Talwar couple reluctantly submitted a set of golf clubs in their house. Of these, four were missing, and they claimed these had been misplaced and were not traceable.

But their driver Umesh later helped in tracing the missing golf clubs.

Forensic tests confirmed that the extent of the extra cleansing on the club was of the same dimension as of the blunt injury on Aarushi's body.

On Umesh's evidence that he had only seen Aarushi, her parents and domestic help Hemraj in the house at 8.30 p.m on the day before murders, the prosecution contended that since the police probe showed there were no signs of any outsider's entry, so the parents were the only ones who could have committed the murders.

The CBI submitted that the Talwar couple had changed the clothes they wore that day and did not provide the blood-stained ones to the investigators. It also accused them of manipulating the crime scene.

After hearing arguments for about half an hour, the court adjourned hearing till Friday when the CBI will resume its case.

Aarushi, 14, was found murdered at her parents' Noida residence in 2008. The body of Hemraj, who was the suspect initially, was found on the roof of the house the next day.