New Delhi, May 23: Aarushi was murdered in a house her young parents had handpicked so that the newborn could be near her grandparents and safe.

The dentist couple, Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, had moved from the upscale Hauz Khas locality in South Delhi to the then semi-urban Noida on the outskirts of the capital for the sake of the baby.

Nupur’s parents were staying in Noida, and the couple preferred to move closer to them as they were not comfortable leaving the child in the care of a servant while they pursued their careers.

While the two dentists went about networking and building their professional reputation, the Tipnises, Aarushi’s maternal grandparents, took care of the little girl.

Sources said the grandparents were the most distraught with the tragedy — the girl used to spend more time with them than with her parents. “They are in a state of shock,” a neighbour said.

The Tipnises used to stay a lane away from the Talwars. Aarushi would go to her grandparents’ house straight from school and spend the rest of the day there till her parents returned home from work.

All the hard work the Talwars put in apparently reaped dividends. “Well-connected”, “modern” and “high-profile” are the adjectives used by those acquainted with the dentist couple.

“Their networking and sound professional reputation brought them a rich clientele, which helped them acquire a better social standing and mix with influential people, including politicians. There were not many good dentists in Noida initially. The field was open for them to establish themselves, especially for Rajesh Talwar, since he was considered a good implantologist,” said a dentist who knew the couple.

After completing his BDS from Delhi’s renowned Maulana Azad Medical College, he did his MD from King George Medical College in Lucknow. He trained under the then President’s dentist, Dharamvir Sachdev.

Rajesh also practised in Sir Gangaram hospital, one of the most frequented by VVIPs after AIIMS.

Before his arrest, he was the head of department, dental surgery, at Fortis hospital. The couple also had a private clinic.

Rajesh was the India co-ordinator of a course run by New York University — the NY Maxicourse for oral implantology. He was awarded the Fellowship of the International College of Dentists in 2004. He is also on the editorial committee of a dentistry e-journal. Nupur has authored a book with her husband, Your Guide to Teethcare.

“He and his wife are both movers and shakers,” said a family friend.

Nupur, too, is an achiever. She was attached to a high-profile dental clinic in Delhi’s tony Khan Market. The clinic is known for treating the who’s who of the capital. “It is not a surprise, therefore, that their social life was very active. They were regulars on the party circuit, and went for frequent foreign holidays, many times without Aarushi,” the friend said.

However, many people who knew the family refused to believe that Rajesh could kill Aarushi.

The soft-spoken Nupur was also a consultant at Fortis, along with Anita Durrani. Anita’s husband Praful Durrani, also a dentist, was a consultant with a company in Noida and a hospital in Delhi.

Compared with the Talwars, the Durranis, from Kashmir, kept a low profile.