Accused of killing his 16-year-old daughter Aarushi in the month of May 2008, Dr, Rajesh Talwar, a dentist, deposed before the designated court at Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, on Friday.
Literally hounded by media persons, the Talwars (Rajesh and Nupur) were seen walking towards the court at Ghaziabad, on the outskirts of New Delhi.
Later, counsel for the dentist couple, Manoj Sisodia, informed media persons about the court proceedings.
"For the first time today, Rajesh Talwar has spoken before the court, explaining how is being implicated in the case and the truth behind the allegation being against him by the witness," said Sisodia.
Meanwhile, the Allahabad High Court has reserved its judgment on a petition filed by Rajesh and Nupur Talwar.
In their petition, the Talwars, accused of killing their daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj, had sought the summoning of 14 witnesses to record their statements before a trial court.
Commenting on this, Anurag Khanna, counsel for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), said: "The court has now reserved the judgment. Our argument was that for this, CBI officers are not required to be present. Mr. Kaul who was the chief investigating officer had already appeared before the court. Whatever cross- examination they wanted to do about the statement of these witnesses, they could have done with Mr. Kaul, and, it is not necessary to produce each and every witness in court. The prosecution is free to produce the witnesses they feel are right for the judicial disposal of the trial."
Earlier a special CBI court in Ghaziabad recorded the statements of the Talwars in connection with the murder case of their daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj.
It came a day after the Supreme Court refused to entertain Talwars' petition seeking to summon 14 witnesses in the case.
The Talwars had approached the apex court challenging the order of the special CBI court rejecting their plea of calling 14 new witnesses, including ADG (Law and Order) and then CBI joint director Arun Kumar to record their statements.
The trial court had on May 6 dismissed their petition for summoning 14 additional witnesses, including ADG (Law and Order) and the then CBI Joint Director Arun Kumar.
The statement of CBI investigating officer AGL Kaul, the last prosecution witness, has already been recorded.
In his deposition before the special court, Kaul, who headed the CBI probe, had submitted that the agency's investigation had revealed no evidence of any third person's entry into the Talwar residence.
A CBI trial court in Ghaziabad has charged Talwars under sections 302/34 (murder with common intention) and 201 (destruction of evidence with common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
In addition to these, the court has charged Rajesh Talwar under Section 203 (giving false information in respect of an offence committed) of the IPC.
Aarushi, 14, was found dead with her throat slit at her Noida residence on May 16, 2008 and the body of her domestic help Hemraj was recovered from the terrace a day later.
