CBI not to share Aarushi's cellphone details

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday declined to share any details about slain teenager Aarushi Talwar's mobile phone that has been traced 16 months after she and her domestic help Hemraj were found brutally murdered in her Noida home. Her parents, however, hope it will help find the real killer.

"Investigation is in progress. Keeping in view the interest of a fair and impartial investigation and also directions of the Supreme Court, the CBI does not propose to share any details with the media at this stage," said CBI spokesperson Harsh Bahal.

Aarushi's black Nokia N72 phone, a crucial piece of evidence in the case, was recovered from Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr town by the Delhi Police Crime Branch on Saturday.

"Aarushi's cellphone was recovered by Delhi Police's Crime Branch and handed over to the CBI," said Delhi Police spokesman Rajan Bhagat.

Bulandshahr Superintendent of Police (City) J.K. Sahi said a woman who once worked as a domestic help for the Talwar family had passed it on to a resident of the Uttar Pradesh town.

According to sources, the woman gave the phone to her relative Ram Bhool, who was using it since then. The man has been arrested and brought to Delhi for questioning.

Terming it as a ray of hope, Aarushi's mother Nupur Talwar said: "We have been waiting and we have been praying every day that something comes soon from the CBI. I am continuing to pray and hope that her killers will arrested soon."

"I think the mobile phone was an important piece of evidence in the case and it will help in nabbing the culprit," said Aarushi's father Rajesh Talwar.

Aarushi, 14, was found murdered in her Jalvayu Vihar apartment in Noida May 16, 2008. The family's domestic help Hemraj, who was missing then and was suspected to have killed her, was found murdered a day later on the terrace of the house.

The sensational case has remained unsolved.

All those who were picked up for interrogation in the weeks after the murder — Aarushi's dentist-father Rajesh Talwar, his medical assistant Krishna and two other neighbourhood domestic helps Raj Kumar and Vijay Mandal — have been freed after a period of detention while the CBI continues to hunt for evidence.

The CBI, which took over the case from Noida police last June, had failed to locate the mobiles of Aarushi and Hemraj and the weapon used to slit the two victims' throats.

Earlier this month, the CBI formed a new team to probe the Aarushi murder following reports that the vaginal swabs of the teenaged victim may have been substituted.