Sheena Bora case: CBI seeks to interrogate Indrani Mukerjea

Indrani Mukerjea, her former husband Sanjeev Khanna and her driver Shyamwar Rai were produced before the sessions court on Thursday for the first time after the Sheena Bora murder case was committed to the trial court and the court extended their judicial custody for 14 days. In the meantime, the CBI made an application before the court seeking permission to interrogate Indrani in jail for her daughter’s murder case.

Special CBI prosecutor Kavita Patil told the judge H.S. Mahajan – who has been assigned to conduct Sheena Bora murder trial – that the CBI wants to question Indrani in jail.

Sources from the CBI have said that they have received the forensic laboratory report on the Skype communication and messages shared among these three accused. According to the application moved by the investigative agency, “Accused Indrani, Khanna and Rai are further required to be examined in respect of the contents of messages exchanged over Skype between Indrani-Rai and Indrani-Khanna immediately before the incident. These messages have been retrieved by the forensic laboratory and a report has been received recently.”

Before the accused could be taken back to the jail, Indrani’s lawyer Gunjan Mangala and Khanna’s lawyer Shreyansh Mithare moved applications seeking statements of witnesses recorded before the court. They have also sought Indrani’s driver and their co-accused Rai’s confessional statement in the case.

The judge however has posted all these, including CBI’s application, for hearing on Monday. Lawyers would make their submissions on their applications and file reply to other side’s application on that day.

Five witnesses had recorded their statements under the provisions of section 164 of Criminal Procedure Code, which unlike police statements, are admissible in the courts as evidence.

Sheena (24), Indrani’s daughter from an earlier relationship, was allegedly strangled in a car and then her body burnt and dumped in a forest in Raigad, about 84 kms from Mumbai.

Apart from these three accused, the CBI also arrested Indrani’s current husband Peter Mukerjea on November 19, the day when CBI had filed chargesheet against Indrani, Khanna and Rai. After keeping Peter in custody for 11 days, the CBI later requested the court to remand him to judicial custody. During his custody the investigative agency also conducted a polygraph test on Peter