Sheena Bora case: Defence completes cross-examination of IPS officer

The defence today completed cross-examination of senior IPS officer Deven Bharti in a special court in connection with the 2012 Sheena Bora murder case in which former media baron Peter Mukerjea and his wife Indrani are the prime accused.

Bharti, currently Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), Mumbai, was part of the probe before the case was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The IPS officer, who deposed before special court judge J C Jagdale, had yesterday told the court that Peter and Indrani had approached him in 2012 to trace the mobile phone location of a relative.

Bharti today told the court that a few days later, Peter and Indrani informed him that the relative had been found.

Replying to question posed by defence lawyers during the cross-examination, Bharti said Peter and Indrani never met him personally to find out the location of the said relative.

He also denied developing any friendship with them.

Bharti mentioned that he discussed the phone number provided by Indrani and Peter with police inspector Nitin Alakhnure, which appeared to be that of Sheena.

Alakhnure had been asked to trace the number.

Bharti, however, said he did not discuss these fact with other officials of the Khar police station.

The IPS officer said he presumed that Alakhnure might have discussed the facts with other officials.

He said Alaknure might have disclosed it (tracing the location of the relative of Peter and Indrani) to the CBI when they recorded his statement.

Bharti also said that even though he had visited Khar police station multiple times during the investigation of the murder case, he neither questioned any witness nor was he present during any interrogation.

Sheena (24), the daughter of prime accused Indrani Mukerjea from an earlier relationship, was allegedly killed in April 2012.

The crime came to light in August 2015 after Indrani's driver Shyamvar Rai, who was arrested in another case, revealed it.

Police subsequently arrested Indrani, her former husband Sanjeev Khanna and Peter Mukerjea.

The CBI, which took over the case from Mumbai Police, has claimed that a financial dispute was the reason behind the killing.