Talwars killers of their own progeny

The verdict pronounced by the Judge Syamlal which convicted Nupur and Rajesh Talwar, on Monday for murdering their only child Aarushi and their domestic help Hemraj, compared the convicts to "freaks in the history of mankind where the father and mother became the killer of their own progeny." and added that Talwars had also been found guilty "of secreting and obliterating the evidence of the commission of the murders to screen themselves from legal punishment."

Aarushi was found dead in her bedroom in May 2008, just a few days after her 14th birthday. Rajesh Talwar reported her death to the local police in Noida and said the family's live-in domestic help, Hemraj, was missing.

He was found dead on the roof hours later.

The CBI, which prosecuted the case, said that by initially suggesting that Hemraj was his daughter's killer, Mr Talwar of trying to deliberately mislead the investigation, a charge the judge accepted on Monday.

But The Talwars lawyers had pointed out that there is no evidence against them - a fact acknowledged by the CBI on different occasions, most notably in December 2010 when it sought permission in court to close the case but however, the agency's request was rejected, and the Talwars were put on trial for murder.

The Talwars, who were taken to a jail in Ghaziabad near Delhi after their conviction, will be sentenced today. The minimum sentence is life in prison. Their lawyers have said they will appeal against the verdict.