CBI ARRESTS PETER MUKERJEA IN SHEENA BORA MURDER CASE

MUMBAI: The CBI on Thursday arrested former media tycoon Peter Mukerjea in connection with the murder of Sheena Bora, daughter of his wife and prime accused in the case Indrani Mukerjea.

The arrest came hours after the agency filed a charge sheet against Indrani, her ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna and driver Shyamwar Rai. It was also revealed Rai had confessed to his role, and that of his coaccused, before a CBI court — making the statement admissible in court. The confession in court was recorded earlier this month.

The Mumbai Police could now recommend that Rai be made an approver, said officials.

A CBI spokesperson confir med Peter’s arrest while agency sources said they had felt the need for his custodial interrogation as he had not been forthright in answering certain questions. The former Star India CEO and INX co-founder will be produced before a special CBI court on Friday.

Doctors visited the CBI office late Thursday to conduct the necessary medical tests on Peter, sources said.

The CBI, sources said, had been questioning Peter for the past three days. They said Peter’s son from his first marriage, Rahul Mukerjea — who was engaged to Sheena — was also being questioned.

The agency was looking into the reasons for Peter being in the UK and Rome at the time of Sheena’s murder in 2012. Questions had also arisen after he revealed he had known Sheena was his wife’s daughter — and not her sister, as Indrani had told everyone else. Then, there was the matter of the rental car, allegedly hired by Peter, in which Sheena was killed. Sources said they were trying to find out why Peter had called up a rental firm in Worli while he was in the UK to hire a car for Indrani. The CBI has recorded the statement of the firm’s owner Faizal Ahmed, reportedly a friend of Peter.