Deprived of mother’s love, says Indrani’s daughter Vidhie; moves court to stay with her

The daughter of Indrani Mukerjea, prime accused in the murder of her daughter Sheena Bora, has moved a special CBI court on Tuesday seeking that she be permitted to live with her mother as it is seven years since she has been separated from her and has been deprived of her love and warmth.

Indrani's daughter, Vidhie, 25, is the daughter of Indrani and her ex-husband, Sanjeev Khanna, also Indrani’s co-accused. After Indrani’s marriage with Peter Mukerjea, she was adopted by Peter, who is also accused in the case. Vidhie is a prosecution witness in the case and her statement, recorded by the CBI, forms part of its chargesheet. She is seeking permission as Indrani’s bail conditions prohibit her from influencing or contacting witnesses in the case.

She sought relief for times when she came to India from the UK, where she has been living alone for the past several years. She will be arriving in India on September 10.

In her plea, Vidhie has said that she was a minor when her mother was arrested in 2015 and has been deprived of her mother's companionship, love, and warmth since the day of her arrest. "This has seriously affected the emotional well-being of the applicant," her plea said, adding that she is now finding it "extremely difficult" to cope with the separation.

She further said her mother is frail, suffers from an irreversible condition, and requires personal and medical care that she wishes to provide to the best of her ability. She said her mother does not have a family apart from herself in Mumbai.

Her plea stated that she wanted to be able to stay with Indrani.

She said she would suffer grave hardship and irreparable loss if the court did not permit her plea and that it would also amount to a violation of her valuable fundamental right. She said if the court permitted her plea, it would be the first time in 7 years that she would be residing with her mother and would have great emotional significance for her.

Published on: Tuesday, August 30, 2022, 07:13 PM IST