Indrani, Khanna plotted murder over Skype calls: Mumbai police

MUMBAI: Mumbai police going through the cell phone records, messages and emails of the accused in the Sheena Bora murder case claim that Indrani and Khanna plotted the murder over Skype calls.

Khar police officials, who produced the accused before the court to extend their remand, informed the court that the Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) platform was used by the two to communicate.

Police said they began communicating after their daughter Vidhie visited Kolkata. They even exchanged an occasional phone call. However, post January 2012, sources said relations between Indrani and Khanna improved drastically and the two used to talk on a regular basis. It is alleged that during one such conversation, Indrani confided in Khanna that if Rahul and Sheena were to marry, then Vidhie would stand to lose a considerable portion of her inheritance. Police said Indrani convinced Khanna that both Mikhail and Sheena should be done away with. Even when she was away in England in 2012, she and Khanna communicated via Skype calls. During the course of these conversations, it is alleged they plotted the murder.

Khar officials are looking into how they ensured their conversations were not recorded. Investigators say the nature of VOIP calls makes it difficult to trace the identity or location. The internet protocol addresses of persons who use VOIP networks are dynamically assigned, which means it constantly changes.

But the latest forensic tools with officials can sift through VOIP calls that have been made from a phone or a computer. Police, who have recovered mobiles and laptops from the accused, are now in the process of gathering evidence from their phone records.