Ex-DSP says neighbours were not aware of Aarushi's death

NEW DELHI: A former police official, who discovered the body of the servant in the Aarushi-Hemraj murder case, today claimed that he found it surprising that the neigbhours came to know about the killings only after police came to the scene.

"I asked the neighbours that what happened and whey they came to know about the murder. Then one of them told me that he came to know about the murder. Then one of them told me that he came to know about the murder when police came.

"It was surprising because when someone die in a house people cry and the neighbours know that someone had died. Then the doubt came in my mind that there may be some problem in the house," K K Gautam, former Deputy Superintendent of Police (Noida), said.

It was Gautam who found the body of Hemraj, the servant of dentist Rajesh Talwar, at the terrace of his house in Noida in May 2008, a day after Talwar's daughter was found murdered in her room.

The sensational murder case took a new twist last week with CBI raising doubts over the role of Rajesh and Nupur Talwar alleging they had tried to influence the doctor who conducted the post mortem on their 14-year-old daughter in 2008, a charge rubbished by the dentist couple.

Gautam said he requested Talwar's brother Dinesh that if the family does not have any objection, he would like to see the scene of crime.

While inspecting the room where Aarushi was found murdered, Gautam noticed some blood stains on nearby stairs and later discovered the body of Hemraj in the terrace.

Gautam said he was approached by Dr Sushil Chaudhury, an eye specialist, to help the Talwars in getting the post mortem of Aarushi conducted claiming that it was unnecessarily getting late.

The former cop claimed he told Chaudhury he could not help them and asked him to approach Chief Medical Officer of Noida.

"Later, Chaudhury asked me whether I could accompany him to Talwar's house. I told him that I don't know the Talwars and it was not good for me that I accompany him. He insisted and I later went there," he claimed.