Sheena Bora murder case: Court permits CBI to put on record transcripts of calls involving Indrani, Peter and Rahul

A court allowed the CBI to submit original transcripts of calls linked to the Sheena Bora murder case, crucial for the ongoing investigation.

MUMBAI: A special court on Thursday permitted the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to place on record the original transcripts of telephonic conversations between Indrani Mukerjea, her former husband and ex-media executive Peter Mukerjea, and his son Rahul Mukerjea in the 2012 Sheena Bora murder case, after the documents were traced to the agency’s storage room in New Delhi.

Sheena Bora murder case: Court permits CBI to put on record transcripts of calls involving Indrani, Peter and Rahul

Allowing the prosecution’s application, special judge Dr JP Darekar observed that the transcripts were “found in the Malkhana (storage room)” of the CBI in New Delhi and that the agency was now seeking to formally produce the original documents before the court.

The case pertains to the alleged murder of Sheena Bora, Indrani Mukerjea’s daughter, whose disappearance was initially portrayed by the family as a voluntary decision to leave Mumbai and sever ties with friends and relatives.

The alleged crime surfaced in 2015 following the arrest of Shyamvar Rai, Indrani Mukerjea’s former driver. Investigators subsequently alleged that Sheena, who had publicly been introduced by Indrani as her sister but was in fact her daughter, was strangled inside a car before her body was taken to Raigad district and burnt in a forested area.

The CBI, which later took over the probe, alleged that Indrani Mukerjea, her former husband Sanjeev Khanna and Rai executed the killing, while Peter Mukerjea, who was married to Indrani at the time, was allegedly part of the larger conspiracy. According to the prosecution, tensions surrounding Sheena’s relationship with Rahul Mukerjea, Peter’s son from an earlier marriage, as well as family and financial disputes, formed part of the alleged motive behind the murder.

The telephonic conversations between Rahul, Indrani and Peter later emerged as a significant component of the investigation. The prosecution has claimed that the calls captured repeated discussions regarding Sheena’s sudden disappearance and attempts to persuade Rahul that she had voluntarily gone away.

In its order on Thursday, the court referred to the deposition of prosecution witness HS Bhandari, a part investigating officer in the case, who stated that on November 5, 2015, then investigating officer KK Singh had handed over “two CDs containing telephonic conversation between Rahul Mukerjea and Indrani Mukerjea and Peter Mukerjea which was recovered through the mobile handsets of Rahul Mukerjea”.

Bhandari further testified that on November 6, 2015, he had “prepared the transcription of the conversation from an unsealed CD in presence of two panch witnesses” and that the printouts were marked as “A to J and A1 to J1”.

The court noted that although the transcripts had been referred to in earlier investigation records, they were missing from the trial proceedings until the CBI recently traced them in its Delhi malkhana. The original transcripts allegedly bear the signatures of Bhandari and two panch witnesses along with the date November 6, 2015.

Observing that “in the interest of justice, documents A to J and A1 to J1 are necessarily to be produced on record”, the court allowed the prosecution’s plea and permitted the agency to formally place the transcripts before the trial court.

The recorded calls have long been regarded as a crucial part of the CBI’s case alleging a conspiracy behind Sheena Bora’s murder. The defence had earlier opposed the use of the recordings in court. Thursday’s order, however, only permits the original transcripts to be formally added to the trial record and does not determine whether the conversations will ultimately be admissible or relied upon as evidence during the trial.