Peter gets bail in Sheena Bora case, but to stay in jail for now
MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Thursday granted bail to former media baron Peter Mukerjea, 64, around five years after he was arrested in connection with the murder of his ex-wife Indrani’s daughter, Sheena Bora, saying the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) failed to explain why he was implicated months after the arrest of the three co-accused in 2015.
Mukerjea will not be released immediately as Justice Nitin Sambre stayed the operation of the bail order for six weeks on CBI counsel Sandesh Patil’s request to allow the agency to move the Supreme Court against it.
Mukerjea approached the high court after the special CBI court trying him, Indrani and the other accused in the case in April last year allowed him to continue to stay at a hospital for a cardiac rehabilitation programme but refused to release him on bail.
His lawyer, Shrikant Shivade, argued Mukerjea had undergone a heart surgery in March 2019 and should be released on bail in view of the ailment and age. Shivade argued there was no evidence showing his client’s involvement in the alleged murder.
Additional solicitor general Anil Singh, who appeared for the CBI, opposed the bail plea saying the trial in the murder case was at an advanced stage. He added if released on bail, Mukerjea was likely to influence witnesses, who are yet to be examined. Singh submitted Mukerjea’s call records and e-mails and said they indicated his involvement in the conspiracy to kill Bora. He added Mukerjea disapproved of Bora’s relationship with his son, Rahul.
Justice Sambre refused to accept the theory. “From the call data record [showing calls with the accused]... it is difficult to infer that the same was in connection with the commission of the crime in question.” He cited Mukerjea’s disapproval of the relationship between his son and Bora and added the e-mails relied upon by the prosecution to show his discontentment did not reflect his criminal intent.
Justice Sambre noted Mukerjea was in England when Bora disappeared and the disappearance was hidden from him for long. He questioned Mukerjea’s arrest. “No explanation is forthcoming why five statements of the approver were required to be recorded and why the applicant [Mukerjea] was implicated and arrested six months later,” he said. Indrani’s former driver, Shyamvar Rai, has become an approver in the case.
According to police, Indrani and her ex-husband, Sanjeev Khanna, allegedly strangulated Bora in April 2012 and buried her body in a forested area in Raigad district.