CBI arranges Karti 'encounter' with Indrani Mukerjea

Moving ahead in the INX Media alleged bribery case, the CBI brought Karti Chidambaram, son of ex-Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, face-to-face with murder accused Indrani Mukerjea, here on Sunday.

A special Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) six-member team brought the 46-year-old Karti Chidambaram from New Delhi to Mumbai this morning and took him to the Byculla Women's Jail, where Indrani Mukerjea is lodged.

The wife of former media tycoon Peter Mukerjea, Indrani is accused of killing Sheena Bora, her daughter from a previous husband. The couple is in custody in connection with Sheena Bora's sensational murder in 2012.

Shortly after landing in Mumbai, the CBI team whisked Karti Chidambaram to the jail around 11 a.m. and confronted him with Indrani Mukerjea after which they were subjected to interrogation for nearly four hours.

Besides the two and the CBI officers, nobody was permitted inside the interrogation venue and nothing is known of what transpired therein, according to official sources.

The CBI has charged Karti Chidambaram with using his father's clout to get a Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance for INX Media, then owned by the Mukerjeas.

Indrani Mukerjea spilled the beans on the deal involving Karti Chidambaram while recording her statement before a magistrate in New Delhi on February 17, including that he had allegedly taken bribes from her.

Among other things, she alleged that Karti received Rs 3.5 crore in kickbacks from INX Media, now renamed 9X Media, for securing the FIPB clearance in 2007 in which it received around Rs 305 crore funds from abroad.

She also said that Karti had met her in a hotel in New Delhi and allegedly demanded $1 million for the FIPB clearances.

Following the revelations, Karti was arrested from Chennai airport on February 28 when he arrived from London and sent to CBI custody till March 6.

--IANS

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