Sheena Bora Murder: Peter Mukerjea Arrested For Allegedly Destroying Evidence, Lying, Say CBI Sources

Mumbai:  Media tycoon Peter Mukerjea, who was arrested on Thursday in connection with the Sheena Bora murder, has been charged with destroying evidence and lying to protect his wife Indrani Mukerjea, sources have told NDTV.

The sections listed against Peter Mukerjea are "causing disappearance of evidence of offence and giving false information to screen offender," sources say.

Peter Mukerjea's wife Indrani Mukerjea was arrested in August, days after the remains of Sheena Bora - her daughter - were found in a forest 80 km from Mumbai.

Sheena was strangled in 2012 allegedly by Indrani Mukerjea, her ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna and driver Shyam Rai.

Sources say Peter Mukerjea was arrested after Indrani Mukerjea's conflicting statements led the CBI to believe that he was aware of the plot to kill his step-daughter.

The Mumbai police had earlier learnt that Peter Mukerjea had received an email from Sheena's hotmail account after her disappearance. Indrani Mukerjea had allegedly used this account to send emails to Peter Mukerjea and Rahul Mukerjea, his son from a previous marriage and Sheena's fiance. She also sent mails to Vidhie Mukerjea, another daughter, and Sheena's brother Mekhail Bora.

All the family members were told that Sheena Bora had moved to US with a boyfriend.

Rahul Mukerjea was also questioned by the CBI on Thursday and left this morning.

Sources say he told the police that after Sheena's disappearance, he visited four police stations in Mumbai to lodge a missing complaint but the police didn't act after being told by Indrani that Sheena had moved to the US and Rahul was stalking her.

Rahul, sources say, has told the CBI that he had approached his father about Sheena's disappearance and questioned Indrani's claims that she had gone abroad.

Rahul had told Peter Mukerjea that Sheena Bora's passport was with him, sources say.

Sources say driver Shyam Rai has recorded a confessional statement before the CBI and is likely to turn approver in the case.

Story First Published: November 20, 2015 11:55 IST

Mumbai Woman, 89, Has a Confession For Husband Who Died 12 Years Ago

"My husband and I had the best time after he retired," says an 89-year-old woman from Mumbai on the Humans of Bombay Facebook page. Her post, about her favourite memories of her husband, will help you believe in true love, the kind that never ends.

In her post, the octogenarian explains how she and her husband spent their time doing different things and were never idle. They would paint, redecorate their house, watch the evening mass on TV, even cook their meals together.

"But his favourite thing to do was to go for long walks in the evening, where he would hold my hand during every crossing and only let go once we reached the other side," she recalls.

They followed this lifestyle until her husband died. "He passed away peacefully in his sleep 12 years ago, but I still want more time with him," she says.

"I try and keep myself busy by going to my daughter's house for lunch and dinner and going to mass whenever I can, but it isn't quite the same without him," she explains.

And she has a secret she never told her husband, a confession she never made. It is this and might make you cry a little: "At 89, I can say I've lived a great life and nothing really scares me... except one thing which I would have never admitted to him then, but I'm terrified of crossing the road by myself and I still can't do it without him."

Shiv Sena may not back BJP in case of a hung assembly in Maharashtra

MUMBAI: The BJP is likely to seek the Shiv Sena's support to form the government in Maharashtra, sources said on Thursday, but the Sena is reportedly in two minds on the issue.

The exit polls haven't brought much cheer to the BJP camp. "We will be the single largest party in the Maharashtra legislative assembly, but there may be a hung assembly in the state. This isn't a good situation for the party," said a senior BJP leader from New Delhi. He was camping in Mumbai for two weeks to monitor the party's poll campaign in the state. BJP leaders have started the post-poll arithmetic for a hung assembly. "If any eventuality arises, we will seek the Sena's support," he said.

However, Matoshree isn't quite sure if joining the BJP government would do the party any good in Maharashtra, a key Sena functionary said. Matoshree's principal worry is that by teaming up with the BJP, the Sena may lose its regional force status to the MNS. "If we join the BJP government we stand to gain to a certain extent as we will share power with the BJP after a gap of 15 years," a Sena functionary said. "But we are not sure how the BJP will treat us in the new alliance. They might give us relatively light portfolios. That will be adding insult to the injury," he added.

 

Central Industrial Security Force and Maharashtra State Police man a counting center in Nagpur (TOI Photo)

Sena president Uddhav Thackeray is reportedly not keen to back the BJP in a hung assembly. "He thinks that if we join the BJP government, the Sena will be accused by the Congress, NCP, MNS and the media of being power hungry. The Sena, he thinks, will lose its moral sheen," the Sena functionary said. "Yet another deterrent (in being part of the BJP regime) is Thackeray's acerbic onslaught on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP national president Amit Shah during the poll campaign," he pointed out. "Even Sainiks will be confused if, after all that happened between the two parties in the last two months, Uddhav-ji decides to lend support to the BJP government," he explained. 

However, several Sena leaders are of the view that the party should forget the past and join a BJP government if the need arises. "The Sena shouldn't wallow in the past. It should look ahead and plan for the future," said a party MP. 

Stating that politics has its own twists and turns, a Sena 'vibhag-pramukh' said, "If we are on board the BJP regime, we will be able to get more financial aid for long-pending infrastructure projects in the state. The Centre can be persuaded to give Maharashtra a financial package," he added.

Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray along with wife Rashmi and son Aditya display their inked fingers after casting votes for the assembly elections in Mumbai. (PTI Photo) 

Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Eknath Khadse has said the BJP may lose seven to eight assembly seats where the party fielded former Congress-NCP leaders. "Congress-NCP leaders who joined the BJP were expected to do well in

the polls. However, we have learnt that the anti-incumbency factor has stuck to these leaders even after they joined the BJP. We may lose seven to eight such seats," he said. 

Khadse and senior BJP leader Vinod Tawde were addressing the media at the party's Backbay Reclamation headquarters on Thursday. Tawde ruled out a post-poll partnership with the NCP. "The BJP will win an absolute majority. We will not need any outside support, much less from the NCP," Tawde said in reply to a question. On Mumbai, Tawde said he wasn't sure if Mumbaikars voted on ethno-linguistic lines or on the development issue. "Mumbai's polling has left us a tad confused," he remarked.