Sheena Bora murder: Peter Mukerjea files bail plea again

Citing a change of circumstances following the chargesheet being filed in the Sheena Bora murder case, media baron Peter Mukerjea has once again filed a plea seeking bail, contending that the chargesheet does not mention anything against him.

According to the CBI, Peter conspired to kill his stepdaughter Sheena because he was opposed to her relationship with his son Rahul Mukerjea. Some financial reasons are also said to be the reason behind her murder.

Peter’s lawyer Kushal Mor filed the second bail application on Wednesday before special CBI judge H.S. Mahajan. Relying on e-mails sent by Peter to his son Rahul in December 2011, the defense said these mails prove that Peter was not against Rahul’s engagement with Sheena. The bail application further said that this was “demonstrably untrue and unsustainable,” that Peter was against the relationship between Rahul and Sheena.

The bail plea further states that there was no further justification for keeping him in custody as there were no “reasonable grounds” in the chargesheet to believe that “he has been guilty of offences with which he is charged.”

The CBI court had earlier rejected Peter’s first bail application on February 12, observing that the chargesheet was not filed and investigation was still on.

The second bail application also said Peter was a senior citizen, suffered from high blood pressure and cholesterol, and his health would deteriorate if he was kept in jail.

Peter was arrested on November 19. He is lodged in Arthur Road jail in Mumbai. Other co-accused, Indrani’s former husband Sanjeev Khanna and her driver Shyamvar Rai are in the same jail, while Indrani is in the Byculla women’s jail.

Indrani, Rai and Khanna allegedly strangled Sheena (24), Indrani’s daughter from an earlier relationship, inside a car in April 2012. The crime came to light last August after the police had arrested Rai in another case for possessing illegal arms and he had spilled the beans about Sheena’s murder.