Hours after it filed a comprehensive chargesheet in a city court against Indrani Mukerjea and two others in the Sheena Bora murder case, the CBI sprang a surprise on Thursday evening by arresting former CEO of Star India and co-founder of INX Media Pvt ltd, Peter Mukerjea, in connection with the sensational crime.
Confirming Peter’s arrest, a New Delhi-based CBI spokesperson told The Pioneer, “Yes we have arrested Peter Mukerjea in the Sheena Bora murder case for custodial interrogation.” She, however, declined to give details of the charges under which Peter had been arrested. The CBI is expected to produce Peter before a city court on Friday to seek his remand.
While there was no official information regarding the charges under which Peter was arrested for his alleged role in the Sheena Bora murder case, sources said the arrest could either be under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 201, 202, 203 of IPC (destruction of evidence and giving false information) or in connection with fraudulent financial dealings, allegedly indulged in by Peter and his wife Indrani.
Sources said Peter’s arrest came after CBI officials subjected him and his son Rahul to prolonged questioning on Thursday afternoon.
Peter is believed to have been arrested on the basis of the confessions reportedly made by Indrani during her interrogation by the CBI officials and unconvincing replies given by him during subsequent questioning.
Peter had consistently denied that he had any knowledge of or any role to play in Sheena’s murder. In the initial stages of the investigations, Peter had told Mumbai Police that he had all along believed that Sheena was Indrani’s sister and not her daughter, as was really the case.
Peter had also disclosed that his son Rahul was in a relationship with Sheena. “Sheena was in a relationship with my son, which Indrani disapproved of. I was told by Indrani that Sheena was her sister. I had no clue that Sheena was actually Indrani’s daughter from her earlier marriage,” Peter had told the media soon after Indrani’s arrest.
Earlier, the CBI, which took over the investigations into the Sheena Bora murder case on September 29, filed a comprehensive chargesheet, running into 1,000-odd pages, against Indrani, her second husband Sanjeev Khanna and driver Shyamvar Rai.
The chargesheet, containing statements of 150 witnesses, 200 documents and seven statements recorded before a magistrate, was filed before Magistrate RV Adone at Esplanade court in South Mumbai.
last week, the magistrate’s court had recorded Shyamvar Rai’s confession under Section 164 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) which is admissible as evidence during trial.
During his confession, Rai is understood to have spelt out the roles played by Indrani, Sanjeev Khanna and himself in the murder of Sheena Bora.
Indrani, Sanjeev and Rai face the charges of abducting Sheena from Bandra (West) and strangulating her in the car on the evening of April 24, 2012 and setting the body on fire in the jungles of Gogade Khurd Village off the Khopoli-Pen Road in Raigad District, the following morning.
Indrani was arrested on August 25 for her alleged role in Sheena’s murder. Sheena was Indrani’s daughter from her first marriage with Siddharth Das.
After taking over the investigations in the case from the Mumbai Police on September 29, the CBI registered a case against Indrani and the two other accused under eight Sections of the IPC, including 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), and 120-B (criminal conspiracy). The other sections under which the three accused have been booked are Section 328 (causing hurt by means of poison), Section 201, 202, 203 of IPC (destruction of evidence and giving false information), and Section 2 (25) of the Arms Act.
Given that Indrani tried to hide her past to the extent that she allegedly killed Sheena and attempted to kill her son Mikhail from the same marriage, the investigators are trying to ascertain if she had parked any ill-gotten money in the accounts of her deceased daughter and son. They are also trying to find out if Sheena and Mikhail had refused to part with the money, leading to Sheena’s murder.
The allegations are that Indrani, then CEO of INX media and its offshoot INX News, had made a lot of money from the parent company and transferred it in the names of her family members before she and Peter exited the two companies some time in 2009.
Peter Mukerjea, who was the CEO of Star India between 1997 and 2007, set up INX Media after quitting Star India. Peter, who is a British citizen, set up INX Media in Indrani’s name in 2007. While Indrani was the CEO, Peter was the chief strategic officer in the company.