Painter refutes CBI claim in Aarushi murder case

 A witness in the Aarushi Talwar-Hemraj murder case on Friday refuted the CBI’s claim that he painted the flat soon after the crime, leading to destruction of evidence.

During cross examination at a Central Bureau of Investigation court here, Shohrat, a painter, said he painted the Jalvayu Vihar flat of Aarushi’s parents in Noida in July 2009, a year after the murders were committed.

Defence lawyer Manoj Shishodia said the CBI had claimed that Nupur and Rajesh Talwar destroyed evidence by painting the house and the wooden partition of Aarushi’s room.
Shohrat recorded his statement before judge S Lal and said he painted the flat twice — once a decade ago and then in 2009.

Shishodia said CBI special magistrate Preeti Singh had taken cognisance after the probe agency claimed that the Talwars tampered with evidence.

The couple was slapped with Section 201 of the Indian Penal Code despite the defence trying to convince the court that neither did the CBI seal the flat nor ask that it be kept intact.

Second witness security guard Bijendra Singh said Jalvayu Vihar had 1,800 flats with nearly 10,000 residents and the guards maintained no register. He said on the night of the crime, he did not notice anything suspicious. He left for home early morning and came to know about the crime after police called him.

The court then adjourned the hearing to September 3.