Incarcerated former high-profile media executive Indrani Mukerjea, who is being tried for murdering her daughter Sheena Bora, is among nearly 200 women jail inmates who have been booked for hatching a conspiracy and indulging in a riot inside the Byculla prison, after the death of a woman prisoner on Friday night.
Two days after six women jail officials were booked for the alleged murder of 40-year-old Manjula Shetye who succumbed to severe injuries that she had suffered in her head, lungs and liver, the Nagpada police registered a case against 200 inmates, including Indrani, in connection with a riot that broke out within the prison premises after Manjula’s death.
Trouble broke out in the Byculla women jail after Manjula, a resident of Bhandup in north-east Mumbai who had been serving life sentence in Pune’s Yerwada for the murder of her sister-in-law and was recently shifted to Byculla jail, was declared dead upon her admission to the state-run JJ Hospital on Friday night. A post-mortem conducted on Mahjula’s body revealed that she had died of “multiple contusions and pulmonary edema”.
After registering a case of accidental death initially, the Nagpada police booked six women jail staffers — Manisha Pokharkar, jailer, Bindu Naikode, Waseema Shaikh, Sheetal Shegaokar, Surekha Gudve and Aarti Shingane, all guards on Saturday night for murder — for allegedly beating Manjula to death, after the post-mortem report arrived. Pending a full-fledged enquiry, all the six jail staffers were suspended for alleged dereliction of duty.
After the news of Manjula spread within the Byculla women jail which houses more than 350 women inmates and at least 25 children who stay with their jail inmate-mothers inside the prison, nearly 200 women prisoners — including Indrani — climbed up the two-storey terrace of the jail building and staged a protest.
The protesters set books, newspapers and clothes on fire and shouted slogans against the prison officials. They also reportedly clashed with the jail staffers who tried to quell the rioters.
Having registered two separate cases — one against six women jail staffers and another against nearly 200 jail inmates including Indrani, the Nagpada police officials are recording the statements of accused in both the cases.
While a magisterial enquiry has been ordered into the death of Manjula, Inspector General of Police — Prisons Rajvardhan Sinha is investigating the two incidents inside the Byculla prison.
Manjula’s family members have told the police that she was extremely popular in Yerwada jail and used to teach knitting for women jail inmates in the prison. “Considering her good behaviour, Manjula had been designated an ad hoc warden and asked to discipline and control the unruly women prisoners inside Yerwada jail. She looked hale and hearty when I visited her at the Byculla jail a month ago,” Manjula’s brother Anand said.
Notwithstanding the alleged involvement in six jail staffers in the murder of Manjula, the spotlight in the case has turned to Indrani who along with her media-baron husband Peter Mukherjea and her former husband Sanjeev Khanna.
Indrani, who was arrested on August 25, 2015 for her alleged role in the murder of her daughter Sheena, is the key accused in the Sheena Bora murder case. Indrani’s former husband Sanjeev Khanna and her second husband Peter Mukherjea are two other accused in the case.
Sheena was daughter of Indrani from her first live-in partner Siddhartha Das. Incidentally, Sheena was in a live-in relationship with Rahul Mukerjea, the son of Peter Mukherjea — a relationship which the CBI has stated in its affidavit both Indrani and Peter had disapproved.
The CBI – which took over the investigations into the Sheena Bora murder case from the Mumbai police on September 29, 2015 – had on November 19, 2015 filed a comprehensive charge-sheet, running into 1,000-odd pages, against Indrani, her former husband Khanna and driver Shyamvar Rai.
Initially, there were four accused in the Sheena Bora murder case – Indrani, her former husband Sanjeev Khanna, her driver Shyamvar Rai and Peter Mukherjea. Of them, Rai was granted pardon and made an approver in the case on June 20, 2016.
On February 16, 2016, the CBI filed filed a supplementary charge-sheet against Peter in the Sheena Bora murder case for various offences in connection with the killing of his step-daughter.
Indrani, Peter and Sanjeev – are being tried for the offences under 120 -b (criminal conspiracy), 364 (kidnapping), 302 (murder), 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention), 203 (giving false information in respect of an offence) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code.
In addition, Indrani and Sanjeev are also being tried for offences registered against them under 307 (attempt to murder) and 120(B) (criminal conspiracy) of IPC for plotting to kill her son and Sheena's brother Mikhail Bora.
In submissions made before the trial court, the Prosecution has listed 52 witnesses in its original charge-sheet and two supplementary charge-sheets filed in the case.