IANS

New Delhi, Jul 3: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday quizzed Nupur Talwar, mother of the slain Noida teenager Aarushi Talwar, even as the victim's dentist father Rajesh Talwar, the prime suspect in the case, was ordered to remain in jail till July 11.

"Nupur was questioned to ascertain whether Aarushi's body was clothed when she first discovered the murder," a CBI official said.

The CBI also questioned a Noida police photographer who took pictures of the crime scene after Aarushi's body was discovered in her upscale Jal Vayu Vihar apartment on May 16. The photographer had handed the pictures to the CBI when it took over the investigations into the case on June 1.

"The photographer, Chunnilal, was questioned on whether Aarushi's body was clothed and whether Nupur Talwar was present when the photographs were taken," a CBI official said.

The development is significant with the agency suspecting that Krishna, the medical assitant of Rajesh Talwar, and Raj Kumar, domestic help of Talwars' dentist couple friends the Durranis, tried to force themselves on the teenager and later killed her.

After Aarushi's murder was discovered, the police initially named her family's domestic help Hemraj as the prime suspect but backtracked when his body was found on the terrace of the apartment the next day.

The police arrested Rajesh Talwar on May 23, saying he had committed the double murder as he objected to Aarushi's closeness to Hemraj.

The CBI arrested Krishna on June 13 and said he had confessed to his involvement in the murders. The agency also arrested Raj Kumar after subjecting him to a series of scientific tests and recovering a blood-stained white T-Shirt and a bicycle from the room he stayed in.

In spite of questioning a number of people and subjecting them to scientific tests, the CBI has not yet been able to locate the weapon used in the double murders or establish the motive for the crime.

Meanwhile, in a packed courtroom in neighbouring Ghaziabad town, Rajesh Talwar's counsel Satish Tamta sought details on the status of the case as he planned to move the Allahabad High Court for the dentist's bail.

Toward this, he submitted three applications: one on Talwar's status - whether he was an accused or a witness; one for a copy of the first information report filed by the police on the murder, as also a copy of Aarushi's autopsy report; and a third seeking more time for Nupur Talwar to meet her husband in jail.

"We want to know the conclusions drawn by the CBI during its investigation to enable us make Talwar's picture clear before the high court," Tamta maintained.

CBI prosecutor RK Saini opposed this, saying the case diary detailing the status of the investigations could only be revealed to the high court if it asked for it.

"The contents of case diary cannot be revealed to any one. If they (the defence) need to convince the court, the court has the right to call for the diary," Saini maintained.

Special judge Sapna Mishra Tripathi agreed with this and ruled that details of the diary could not be provided to Talwar.

Tripathi also directed the CBI to hand over copies of the FIR and the autopsy report. As for the increased meeting time sought, she said this would be governed by the jail's rules.