Maya shunts out police top brass as CBI takes charge of Arushi case

Addressing a press conference, Mayawati said she took the three officers off the probe so that her government could not be accused of trying to create problems in the CBI investigation, which began today.

In a statement, the CBI said they had registered a case last night. “The FIR assumed an unidentified (person) as the prime suspect and Rajesh Talwar as the secondary accused.”

“My government does not want police officials connected with the case to be accused of trying to botch it up to try and project their own probe as correct,”

Mayawati said. Gyan Singh will be the new IG of Meerut Zone, P V Rama Shastri the DIG and R K Chaturvedi the Noida SSP.

In order to dispel the perception that UP police officials were not cooperating with the CBI, Mayawati added: “I have directed the Principal Secretary (Home) and DGP to provide whatever help the CBI asks immediately.”

The UP police has arrested Arushi’s dentist-father Rajesh Talwar in the case for allegedly killing his daughter and Hemraj in their Noida Sector 25 house on the night of May 15-16. He is at present in judicial custody.

The CBI has formed a 25-member team to investigate the case. Today, CBI officers, led by Joint Director Arun Kumar and accompanied by Head of the Department of Forensic Sciences of AIIMS and Director of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, visited the scene of crime.

They also spoke to some of the relatives, including Arushi’s mother Nupur, besides the Noida police officers probing the twin murder.

Speaking to PTI, CBI Director Vijay Shanker said: “Each and every case involving murder is important for us. This case is more so as two innocent people have been murdered, and because of the public anger against apparent inept investigation by the local police…”

The police have claimed that Talwar killed Arushi in a fit of rage after he found her with Hemraj in an “objectionable” position, and that the help was taken to the terrace and killed. Arushi’s mother Nupur has claimed that her husband is innocent and that the Noida police is framing him.

Besides IG Singh, DIG Meena and SSP Ganesh, the Mayawati government also transferred 10 other IPS officers today, including the Kanpur IG, Allahabad DIG and Agra, Aligarh and Mathura SSPs.

Under fire

IG Gurdarshan Singh: From Union Minister Renuka Chowdhury to rights activists, all flayed the IG for hinting at an affair between Arushi and the family’s help, Hemraj, as well as Rajesh Talwar and a colleague. At a press conference, the IG said the father couldn’t stand Arushi’s conduct, though he was as “characterless”.

SSP A Satish Ganesh: Declared help Hemraj suspect hours after Arushi’s body was found, kept mum when Hemraj’s body turned up on the terrace, which police apparently hadn’t searched. On Day 4 declared, “case will be over in 24 hours”. On Day 6, said the murders were a fallout of extreme passion or honour killing, gave out name of Arushi’s friend Anmol.