Noida police questions Hardwar priest; murder weapon still missing

Noida, May 30 (UNI) The Noida police this morning questioned a Hardwar priest who reportedly helped the Talwars perform last rites of their daughter Aarushi, who was allegedly killed by her father Rajesh Talwar a fortnight ago.

The police team left for Hardwar with Dr Talwar and questioned the priest -- Upendra Pancholi -- in the presence of the accused.

Pancholi was questioned for over 20 minutes and asked about the people who accompanied Dr Talwar. The priest reportedly informed the police that five people had come to him for the rites and were in a hurry to leave.

While the police team returned to Noida, it failed to recover the murder weapon allegedly used by the dentist to kill his daughter and their domestic help Hemraj. The police have informed the court of chief judicial magistrate A K Singh about its failure to recover the weapon.

Meanwhile, a team of National Comission of Women led by its member Nirmala Venkatesh met Aarushi's mother Dr Nupur Talwar at her Sector 25 residence. Later talking to reporters, she slammed the police for the ''character assassination'' of the victim. To a poser on recommendation for a CBI probe by the UP government, Ms Venkatesh maintained silence.

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