Sheena Bora murder: CBI submits chargesheet

The CBI today filed a chargesheet in the Sheena Bora murder case in a magistrate's court here in which her mother and former media magnate Indrani Mukherjee and two others have been named as accused.
24-year-old Sheena Bora was allegedly murdered by her mother, Indrani's former husband Sanjeev Khanna and her former driver Shyamvar Rai here in April 2012 and her body was dumped in a forest in the neighbouring Raigad district.
The chargesheet, running into more than 1,000 pages and containing statements of 150 witnesses, 200 documents and seven statements recorded before magistrate, was submitted before magistrate RV Adone at Esplanade court in South Mumbai.

It names Indrani, Khanna and Rai as accused--who were all arrested in August this year--after Rai allegedly spilled the beans while he was being interrogated in a different case.
The probe into the sensational case, which was personally supervised by the then Mumbai police commissioner Rakesh Maria, was later handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) by the Maharashtra Government considering its various aspects including the suspected money trail.
Indrani, Khanna and Rai are currently lodged in judicial custody here which is due to expire tomorrow.

Last week, the magistrate's court recorded the confession of Shyamvar Rai under section 164 of Criminal Procedure Code, which, unlike a police statement, is admissible as evidence in the court, a CBI official said.

(Reopens BOM 21)
"We have made a watertight case with enough evidence," said a CBI official.
Defence lawyers said that they may seek bail for their clients now.
"Since now the chargesheet has been filed, we will go through it and move a bail application before the sessions court," said Sanjeev Khanna's lawyer Shreyansh Mithare.
According to the Mumbai police who initially probed the case, Sheena was strangled inside a car and her body was burnt before being dumped in the forest. The police had to take the help of forensic experts to confirm that the remains found in Raigad forest were that of Sheena.

Ever since the investigation began, the case has been through some dramatic turns like hospitalisation of Indrani after she collapsed in the Byculla prison.
The police had also questioned Indrani's husband and former media baron Peter Mukerjea during the probe.
The case also generated much political heat with the opposition attacking the BJP-led Government in the state for abrupt transfer of Rakesh Maria in September in the midst of the probe.
Recently, Indrani was again hospitalised after her platelet count dipped drastically. However, doctors at the JJ Hospital here made it clear that she had not contracted dengue as suspected.

Before this, on October 2, Indrani was taken to hospital from Byculla womens' prison in an unconscious state, fuelling speculation that she had overdosed on anti-depressant drugs. But the probe by Inspector General (Prisons) ruled out the possibility of drug overdose, poisoning or suicide bid.
Later, she was discharged and sent back to the jail.