Was the case of Sheena Bora’s ‘murder’ an accidental discovery by the police? Or did they know all along that there was something suspicious about the disappearance of a girl from a high profile Mumbai family but were being cautious about it? Investigators say they came to know about details of the case following the interrogation of former Star India CEO Peter Mukerjea’s driver Shyam Rai, who was arrested on 21 August for possessing illegal firearms. But there’s something that misses the eye, according to former top police officers.
“It’s a bit murkier than it appears,” SR Darapuri, former inspector general of the Uttar Pradesh police. “The police suddenly swung in action three years after the girl went missing in 2012 without even a formal complaint,” he added.
“If the police had some clue, they should have summoned the driver directly for questioning much earlier instead of arresting and interrogating him on the charge of possessing illegal arms now. What led the interrogators ask an ordinary driver questions related to a high-profile murder case involving media moguls?” he asked.
But a Mumbai police officer close to the ongoing investigation claimed that they had been working on the case for the past two months after they came to know that Sheena had been missing for the last three years.
“We were secretly investigating the facts available with us for the last three months. Indrani was on our surveillance but we did not ask her to join the probe to make sure that she does not go into hiding. In the meantime, the driver was apprehended in connection with an illegal arms case. Since he was associated with the family in question, we asked him about Sheena’s whereabouts. On sustained interrogation, he spilled the beans. He confessed to several other crimes, including Sheena’s murder. The driver told us that it was Indrani (Peter’s wife) who hatched the conspiracy of her daughter’s elimination,” the officer told without wishing to be named.
Investigation so far has revealed that Indrani allegedly killed Sheena with the help of her ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna, a Kolkata-based businessman, and Peter’s driver Rai, a resident of Vakola. Reports learnt that Sheena was not strangled to death. She was murdered with a poisonous injection. The police are on the hunt of a contract killer allegedly hired by Indrani to do the job.
Khar police took Indrani into custody from her residence in Worli on 25 August. She was quizzed by Mumbai Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria at the Khar police station for three hours. “Initially, she denied all charges but later she broke down and confessed after she was confronted with the driver,” he added.
There appears to be a case of procedural botch up, said Darapuri. “When an unclaimed body is found, all forensic evidence is collected from the spot and a photograph of the body is circulated to all police stations seeking people to identify it. In addition, an advertisement is given in all leading newspapers for people to come forward to claim the body but the police ignored the procedure,” he observed, adding as per procedure the (Raigad) police should have collected the DNA evidence for future reference before disposing of the body. Reportedly the Raigad police has misplaced reported that the Srforensic pieces, which Raigad police believe, can provide “material DNA evidence” in the Sheena Bora murder probe.,
However, two other former top police officials disagreed with Darapuri’s doubts on Mumbai Police’s theory. “One clue leads to the other and this is how a case is cracked. The police are doing a good job. Their presence of mind while questioning the driver worked and therefore the complex case came to the fore. Let the investigators probe the matter; the truth will come out,” former Delhi Police Commissioner Ved Marwah told .
When asked did he not think that the Mumbai Police went overboard, he replied, “No, not at all. When an accused is apprehended, an intelligent investigating officer inquires about other cases similar to the crime the person in custody is allegedly involved in. It does not matter that a complaint is registered or nor not. Therefore, I do not suspect the police action.”
Agreeing with what Marwah said, former UP DGP Shri Ram Arun said, “Although the driver was not arrested in connection with the case in question, but his confession to the crime cannot be ruled out. The police have all the right to ask questions other than the charges the accused has been slapped with. The information given by the suspect might be helpful in cracking other cases.”