Didn't know forg ing signature is wrong: Indrani's ex-secretary

A former personal secretary of Indrani Mukerjea, the prime accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, today told a special CBI court here that she didn't know she was committing an offence of forgery by copying Bora's signature on a resignation letter.

According to the CBI, after her daughter Sheena's death in April 2012, Indrani asked Kajal Sharma to practice her signature and use it on a resignation letter sent in Sheena's name to her employer.

Indrani wanted to make it appear that Sheena herself had signed and sent the resignation letter to her employer Reliance Metro, so that her absence from work does not arouse any suspicion, the CBI has said.

Sharma, a prosecution witness in the case, was today cross-examined by defence lawyers before special judge J C Jagdale.

To a question, Sharma said she didn't know that copying someone's signature was an offence, and she found it out only when she visited the police station during the probe.

"I didn't know it was a wrong thing to to. I had shown (police) the e-mails (in which Indrani had asked her to practise and copy Sheena's signature) on the very first day I was called to police station. On that day only I realised the meaning of the word forgery," she said.

Sharma had told the CBI that Indrani forced her make Sheena Bora's signature on a resignation letter and a letter seeking cancellation of Sheena's leave and licence agreement.

This purportedly happened after Sheena's death.

Sheena (24), Indrani's daughter from an earlier relationship, was killed in April 2012, but the killing came to light in August 2015 after Mukerjea's driver Shyamvar Rai, arrested in another case, spilled the beans.

The Mumbai police arrested Indrani, her former husband Sanjeev Khanna and Rai for allegedly killing Sheena. Later, Indrani's husband and media baron Peter Mukerjea was also arrested for allegedly being part of the conspiracy.

The CBI, which took over the case, claimed that a financial dispute was the reason for the murder.