Indrani's jail stay extended, CBI wants to grill accused

A Mumbai court today extended by two weeks the judicial custody of Sheena Bora murder case prime accused Indrani Mukerjea, her former husband Sanjeev Khanna and driver Shyam Rai even as CBI sought permission to question them in jail.
The judicial custody of Indrani, accused in the murder of her 24-year-old daughter Sheena, and co-accused Khanna and Rai was extended by Magistrate M R Natu till October 19.
While Khanna and Rai were produced before the Magistrate at the Esplanade Court via video-conferencing, jail officials sent Indrani's warrant to the court.
Seeking extension of the judicial custody of all the three accused, CBI told the court it would need further remand for investigation as the case was transferred to the agency from Mumbai Police recently.

The Central agency also moved a plea for permission to interrogate all the three in the jail. The CBI's application, seeking permission for at least three weeks to interrogate them, is likely to be heard tomorrow.
According to JJ Hospital, where 43-year-old Indrani was rushed on Friday after collapsing in Byculla prison after suspected overdose of anti-depressant pills, she is conscious and responding to treatment.

"Indrani continues to be in a state of consciousness from yesterday. Most probably we may start giving her oral sips for further round of treatment," Dr T P Lahane, Dean of state run J J Hospital, told PTI.

Meanwhile, a senior Home Department official said the probe ordered by the Government following Indrani's hospitalisation will also focus on ascertaining if she was poisoned through "external factors".
"Prima facie it seems unlikely that she stored the drugs for so many days and then ate all of it at one go. Also, we do not see any motive for a prison official to have helped her attempt suicide. If that is the case, we will not hesitate even once to issue suspension orders of anybody who tried to help her attempt suicide," the official, privy to the probe by IG (Prisons) into the suspected drug overdose, said on condition of anonymity.

"When these logical ways of the drug reaching her seem a very distant possibility, what we are focusing now is if somebody tried to poison her. The investigating officer is recording statements of everybody who comes in contact with Indrani in the jail, including prison officials, other inmates and cooks," the official said.