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Indrani Mukerjea charged with attempt to murder

Her police custody extended till September 5; daughter Viddhi breaks down in court

Mumbai: A local court here on Monday extended the police custody of former high-flying TV executive Indrani Mukerjea, her former husband Sanjeev Khanna and her driver Shyam Rai by five days in connection with the murder of her daughter Sheena Bora.
All three accused were brought to a magistrate's court in Bandra in the afternoon amidst chaotic scenes as television cameramen and media persons jostled with lawyers and policemen. The police had covered the face of all the accused persons.
Inside the court, Indrani's lawyer sought the magistrate's permission for a brief meeting between the accused and her daughter Viddhi (from her marriage to Sanjeev). After the magistrate agreed, mother and daughter hugged for a while, with Viddhi breaking down and bursting into tears. Indrani too appeared shaken and had to be held back by the policewomen. Viddhi has been adopted by Peter after he married Indrani.
Indrani's lawyers claimed that she had been questioned for almost 100 hours and they had not been allowed access to her during the interrogation. They said there was no need for her police custody. The magistrate, however, acceded to the police request and extended the custody of all three till September 5. The police also filed additional charges of attempt to murder and drugging Mikhail Bora, Indrani's son, who has accused his mother and her former husband of trying to murder him.
Guwahati-based Mikhail, who was brought to Mumbai, told the police last week that Indrani and Sanjeev had spiked his drinks on the fateful night of April 24, 2012, when they allegedly murdered his sister Sheena. He said they were planning to kill him, but he managed to escape later at night.
Indrani, the over-ambitious woman from Guwahati, had founded INX Media, a television network with several channels, with the help of her husband, former Star TV India CEO Peter Mukerjea. She has been accused of murdering her daughter Sheena, though the motive remains unclear.
According to police sources, one reason could be some financial transactions in Sheena's bank account. Sheena had fallen in love with Rahul, Peter's son from an earlier marriage, and Indrani was opposed to the relationship. The police on Sunday took all three accused to a village in Raigad district about 100km south of Mumbai, where Sheena's body had been disposed of in 2012. The girl was allegedly killed in a car by Indrani, Sanjeev and the driver, after she was picked up from Bandra. Her body was taken to a forest in Raigad a day later and disposed of. The Raigad police recovered the decomposed body a few weeks later, but failed to pursue the investigation. There are several loose ends in the case that need to be tied up and the Mumbai police are pursuing various angles. Sleuths have been sent to Kolkata, Guwahati and other cities in a bid to interrogate others with possible connections to the case, including former employees of INX Media.
nithin@khaleejtimes.com

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