Talwars’counsel question UP cops

For the third consecutive day, lawyers representing Rajesh and Nupur Talwar continued with the cross-examination of UP police personnel who lifted fingerprints and clicked photographs at the crime scene in connection with the Aarushi-Hemraj murders.

For the third consecutive day, lawyers representing Rajesh and Nupur Talwar continued with the cross-examination of UP police personnel who lifted fingerprints and clicked photographs at the crime scene in connection with the Aarushi-Hemraj murders.

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Defence lawyers on Friday asked photographer-cum-forensic expert Chunni Lal Gautam how and where the photographs from the scene of crime were developed. They also asked him to explain the process of lifting fingerprints.

When he deposed before the court on June 8, Gautam had stated that Aarushi's body was covered with a white sheet and her bed-sheet had no creases. Also, the toys kept on the bed had no blood marks.

On Friday, Gautam said he recalled that the grill on the terrace, where Hemraj's body was recovered, was covered with a bed-sheet and he took photographs. He said he also took photographs of blood-stained palm-prints on the terrace wall.

But Gautam skipped majority of the questions, saying he did not remember many things. After the CBI filed its closure report in December 2010, the agency highlighted vital points related to the "dressing up" of the crime scene. Gautam's statements may prove crucial in this context.

Further cross-examination will continue on July 2 at the (CBI) court in Ghaziabad. In the past two hearings, defence lawyers had put across 200-300 questions to Gautam.

Talwars' lawyer Manoj Sisodia said they wanted to bring out the shoddy manner in which the investigating agencies collected evidence from the scene of crime.