Financial transaction motive behind Sheena Bora's murder, CBI tells court; Peter Mukerjea's custody extended

Delhi: Financial transaction was the motive behind Sheena Bora's murder, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) told a Mumbai court on Monday.

The CBI also told the court that Peter Mukerjea had disclosed during questioning investments made by him and wife Indrani in UK and India but not source of money.

The CBI submitted that when Indrani tried to access Sheena's email account Peter was present with her.

The submissions were made by CBI while seeking the extension of Peter's custody by 10 days to probe the financial angle of the sensational case.

"Peter has disclosed that investments of crores of rupees were made by him and Indrani (his wife, prime accused in the case) in the form of fixed deposits in UK and India and some immovable properties were also acquired by them during 2010-2011, but he did not disclose the source of money for acquiring the said assets," CBI's custody extension application said, as per PTI.

The court, however, gave CBI the custody of Peter, who was arrested on November 19, only till November 26, after observing there was nothing new in the agency's arguments.

Previously, the CBI had said that while it had earlier booked Peter Mukerjea under several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), he had also been additionally charged under Sections 302 and 364, and would be prosecuted accordingly.

It had said that four serious charges had been levelled against him.

Earlier, on November 21, in a sensational chargesheet filed by the CBI, it was revealed that besides the financial dispute, the motive behind her murder could have been her 'relationship' with Peter Mukerjea's son, Rahul.

In the chargesheet, the agency had said that the prime accused in the high profile murder case, Indrani Mukerjea, was not happy with the love affair of Rahul and Sheena.

It also stated that Rahul met Sheena at Peter's house and their friendship grew into love.

In 2008, Sheena told Rahul that she was in fact Indrani's daughter.

Indrani who did not approve the love affair quarrelled with Sheena and sent her to Guwahati and later, Delhi.

When Sheena fell ill in Delhi, Indrani called her daughter's former boyfriend, Kaustubh Saikia, and asked him to take her to Bangalore.

Rahul came to know of this and visited her in Bangalore and found that the medicines given by Indrani to Sheena were sedatives meant for mental illness, according to the chargesheet.

Describing the plot and the purpose behind the murder, the CBI in their chargesheet, had added, "Indrani Mukerjea had entered into a criminal conspiracy with the co-accused namely Sanjeev Khanna, Shyamwar Pintu Rai for abduction and killing of Sheena Bora and Mekhail Bora. In pursuance of the said criminal conspiracy, Indrani along with Shyamwar and Sanjeev abducted Sheena on 24/4/2012 along with the co-accused persons and killed her in a car by administering sedatives and strangulating her and thereafter disposed her body on 25/04/2012 at Gagode Khind, Khapoli-Pen Road, Raigad by burning it. Indrani also attempted to kill Mekhail," as per PTI.

The investigating agency was also probing allegations that a financial dispute was at the heart of the case, especially a transaction that involved Rs 1,300 crore.

The CBI had alleged in court that Indrani and Peter hatched the murder plot in early 2012.

Indrani returned to India on April 23, 2012 while Peter stayed back in the UK and returned on April 26, two days after the murder, the CBI had stated.

On his return, Peter and Indrani maintained that Sheena had moved to the US whenever they were confronted by Rahul, the CBI had said.

"Indrani had purchased a flat for Sheena in Delhi through a gift deed but she later terminated it after learning about Sheena's affair with Rahul. Sheena then allegedly started blackmailing Indrani, threatening to expose her before her social circuit as she had a birth certificate which proved that Indrani was her mother and not sister. Sheena demanded a three bedroom flat in Mumbai from Indrani. This appeared to have irked Indrani, who then hatched a plan to kill Sheena along with (her former husband) Sanjeev Khanna. Peter played an active and crucial role in the case," stated the 1000-page CBI chargesheet.

Indrani, her ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna and her driver Shyamvar Rai are accused in the case.

(With PTI inputs)