Indrani wilts, says she did it

On the other hand, Indrani’s husband, ex-Star India CEO Peter Mukerjea, underwent another round of marathon grilling even as the police try to crack the intriguing case. A senior police officer said Indrani had “confessed” to her role in the crime, without providing further details. Since her arrest, Indrani had been maintaining that Sheena was very much alive and living in <g data-gr-id="86">US</g>.

Peter, who was accompanied by his elder brother Gautam <g data-gr-id="66">Mukerjea</g>, arrived at Khar police station at 10.30am and left at 10.45pm. The grilling of Peter in the case continued and he was confronted with Indrani and the two other accused, police said. While one police team questioned him, another carried out a search at his flat in Worli and took away some documents and a laptop. He was given a break in the afternoon.

Peter was brought face-to-face with Sanjeev Khanna, Indrani’s former husband and her driver Shyam Rai, both of whom have been arrested, police said. Thursday’s interrogation is being supervised by a DCP level officer.

Peter was interrogated for nearly 12 hours on Wednesday and it went on till late night. Indrani was brought to the police station two hours after her husband arrived.

“(Peter) Mukerjea was called again at the Khar police station as we are trying to corroborate his statement with that of Indrani, with whom he co-founded INX Media,” the officer said.

Meanwhile, the Forensic Science Laboratory at Kalina here has started the process of analysing the samples of Indrani and skeletal remains found in adjoining Raigad district to match the DNA and determine if the body was that of Sheena.

On Wednesday, police carried out a search operation at Peter’s flat in Worli and took away some documents and a laptop. The same set of questions given to Peter was also handed over to Indrani, who was brought in from the Bandra police lock-up and made to sit in an adjoining room. The same set of questions given to Peter was also given to Indrani, who was brought in from the Bandra Police lock-up and made to sit in an adjoining room.

Some of the questions posed to Peter pertained to his financial transactions, especially his investments, his share in various companies and how much money he had given to Indrani, son Rahul, step-daughter Sheena and younger step-daughter <g data-gr-id="68">Vidhie</g>, who is Indrani’s daughter from her previous marriage.

Sheena was engaged to Rahul, Peter’s son from an earlier <g data-gr-id="72">marriage,</g> when she was allegedly killed on April 24, 2012. The 24-year-old was allegedly strangled in a car and her body was later burnt and dumped at a forest in Raigad, about 84 km from Mumbai.

Her purported remains were recovered after a month and buried by the police, who treated the body as unclaimed. For three years, Indrani told her family and friends that Sheena, who worked with Mumbai Metro, had shifted to the US.

Meanwhile, the Mumbai Police also questioned Siddhartha Das for around two hours, a day after he emerged claiming he was Sheena Bora’s biological father and had been in a live-in relationship with Indrani Mukerjea. A team of police officers questioned him over his claim that Sheena and Mikhail are his children. Sources said Das was questioned about his relationship with Indrani in Assam and whether she had contacted him recently. The team, which visited the rented accommodation where the Das family lives, also questioned the landlord. Asked about the birth certificates of Sheena and Mikhail, he said they were at Karimganj in Assam, his parental home.

“Police recorded a written statement which I signed. I cannot disclose the content and I will cooperate with the police,” Das said.

Sources said Das had called up a top Mumbai policeman at around 11.20pm on Tuesday and offered to talk to any official in Kolkata. When he was told a team had reached the city, Das volunteered to help with the probe.

“I am yet to get any call from them (Mumbai police),” he said on Wednesday morning and got in touch with them again around noon. The Mumbai Police team was busy during the day raiding the residence of accused Sanjeev Khanna and the house of his friend Ajay Rawla.

Talking over <g data-gr-id="79">phone</g>, Das on Wednesday said he loved his daughter Sheena and is ready to face any investigation to bring her killers to justice. Questions are being raised about discrepancies in the statements of members of the Das family. Siddhartha’s wife Babli on Tuesday claimed she came to know about his pre-marital relationship with Indrani from her mother-in-law.