Mumbai: Calling the money motive attributed by CBI for her act of murdering daughter Sheena Bora as ‘illogical’, prime accused in the Sheena Bora murder case Indrani Mukerjea asked the court that if money was the motive, would she not have killed Peter?
CBI has alleged in its chargesheet that worried that Peter’s properties would got to Sheena if he married her, Indrani had murdered Sheena. She told the court while arguing her bail plea herself, that 75 per cent of Peter’s assets were in her name and only 25 per cent in joint ownership. She reasoned whether for that 25 per cent she would kill Sheena? All of Peter’s assets were willed to her and hers to him, she told the court.
This is Indrani’s fifth bail plea. CBI has always opposed bail to her on the grounds that she is influential and may tamper with witnesses and as important witnesses such as Peter’s son Rahul were yet to depose. Indrani pointed out the recent development of Peter Mukerjea being granted bail by the high court and argued, “Allegations are that he is a co-accused, co-conspirator. Nobody can say that he is not influential and I am. He has been in the media industry for 20 years and I for only two. He is Rahul Mukerjea’s father and many witnesses are known to him. He is also a British passport holder,” and sought parity with him.
Saying that she had been framed, she pointed out that she was arrested only a day before her daughter Vidhie’s 18th birthday. A Worli flat worth 20 crores was made in Vidhie’s name when Vidhie was 12 and was in Indrani and Peter’s custody till she would become 18 years. “Peter and I had earlier written a letter to the society to pass a resolution to transfer the flat in Vidhie’s name, but the next day of my arrest, Peter wrote a letter to defer the transfer. He transferred the flat to his elder son Rabin,” she told court.
Alleging that Shyamwar Rai, who turned an approver in the case, is a liar, she said that in the Arms case against him, he had pleaded not guilty before a magistrate court and before this court he had said that he was caught with a gun. It is the prosecution case that the lid blew off the Sheena Bora murder when Rai was caught while trying to dispose of a gun. Indrani also told court that before giving his statement before a magistrate, Rai had asked for Rs. 50 lakhs from her to not say anything and had asked Sanjeev Khanna for Rs. 5 lakhs. "Do you consider a witness of that conduct reliable?" she asked the court and told that CDR evidence which shows mobile tower location does not match Rai’s narration of events.
