Ahead of their seeking further extension of the custody of the three accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, the Mumbai police appeared till Friday evening not have to established the motive behind the sensational crime, even as the investigators interrogated former CEO of Star India and co-founder of INX Media Pvt ltd Peter Mukerjea for the third consecutive day.
On a day when the key accused Indrani’s daughter, Vidhie, and her uncle Gautam Mukerjea and aunt Aarati (Peter’s brother and sister-in-law) joined the investigations at the Khar police station, the investigators subjected Peter to another prolonged round of grilling.
Vidhie is the daughter of Indrani from her second marriage with Sanjeev Khanna, who has “confessed” to have helped his ex-wife (Indrani) in strangulating her daughter from the first marriage Sheena Bora in a car on April 24, 2012 and disposing off the body in the Gogade Khurd village off the Khopoli-Pen Road.
Vidhie, Gautam and Aarti Mukerjea were allowed to leave the Khar police station at 8.30 pm after several hours of questioning. Peter, who has already been questioned for nearly 30 hours during the past three days, continued to stay put inside the Khar police station, giving rise to speculation on whether he might also be arrested later in the night in connection with the Sheena Bora murder case.
The three accused in the Sheena Bora murder case — Indrani, her second husband Sanjeev Khanna and driver Shyamvar Rai — will be produced before a city court on Saturday for seeking further extension of their custody.
Sources said that apart from briefing the progress made by them in the investigations, the investigators would tell the court that their investigations were still incomplete and they would need all three accused in their custody for some more time for interrogation on specific issues.
Meanwhile, during the interrogation of him on the third consecutive day, the investigators are believed to have quizzed him on specific issues relating to the questionable financial deals allegedly done by Indrani when he and she were the co-founders of INX Media Pvt ltd, a media firm that he set up with her at the helm of affairs after he quit Star India in 2007.
Sources said that the investigators were concentrating on the investments made by Indrani and him from the money allegedly siphoned off from INX Media Pvt ltd, a firm from which both exited in 2009.
The investigators have written to the Registrar of the Companies seeking details of the company owned or floated by Peter Mukerjea and Indrani. They are also planning to reach out to the authorities in Britain and Spain, where Peter and Indrani have bank accounts.
The latest line of investigations should be seen in the light of the allegations that Indrani parked some of the ill-gotten money that she allegedly made during her stint with INX Media in her daughter Sheena’s accounts. The investigators are examining if Sheena’s refusal to part with the alleged ill-gotten money became a bone of contention between Indrani and her daughter, leading to the latter’s murder.
As part of the investigations into the financial trial that took place after the Mukherjea couple allegedly siphoned of funds from INX Media, the investigators have also enlisted the help of the IT experts to examine financial transactions undertaken by Indrani and Peter.
The police are examining the manner in which Indrani went out of her way to help the latter financially, years after they separated after a bitter court battle. The investigators are also checking if Indrani had helped Sanjeev — who allegedly helped her in strangulating Sheena and later disposing off the body — to maintain secrecy over the sensational crime they had indulged in.
If the investigators are concentrating on the financial angle to nail Indrani for her alleged involvement, it is because she has proved to be a hard nut to crack, a fact that has come as a total surprise for the investigators — led by Mumbai Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria himself — who have interrogated her for as many nine days since her arrest.