Sheena case: CBI raids 10 locations in 5 cities

Besides, a Mumbai magistrate court extended the judicial custody of the prime accused Indrani Mukerjea, her ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna and her former driver Shyamvar Rai till October 31.

According to sources, CBI teams conducted raids at Peter and Indrani Mukerjea’s residences in Mumbai and Goa, Indrani’s ancestral home in Guwahati, her driver Shyamvar Rai’s houses in Mumbai and Chindwara  (Madhya Pradesh) and Khanna’s residence in Kolkata.

According to sources, CBI sleuths quizzed Indrani’s son Mikhail Bora in Guwahati. The CBI’s operation at Mikhail’s house continued for five hours.

However, after the CBI team left, Mikhail said he was not grilled by the investigating agency but that they needed some more information on Sheena and their mother Indrani, the prime accused in the case. “I will fully cooperate with the CBI in the investigation of my sister’s murder,” he said.

Meanwhile, magistrate NB Shinde extended the judicial custody of Indrani, Khanna and Rai for 12 days after it came to an end on Monday till October 31. None of the accused were produced in 

the court. 

“The court has extended their judicial custody till October 31,” said defence lawyer Shreyansh Mithare.

Mithare added that Rai has written a letter to the court, saying that he wanted to reveal something to the court in person. The court may issue production warrant for him later in the day. 

On September 7, a fortnight after their arrest and prolonged interrogation, the court had remanded Indrani and her driver Shyamvar Rai to judicial custody till September 21, which was later extended till October 5. 

A day after on September 8, Khanna, too, was remanded in judicial custody. Sheena, Indrani’s daughter from her first marriage, was murdered on April 24, 2012. She was allegedly strangulated by Indrani, Khanna and Rai in a rented car. Her body was burnt and disposed off in a forest in Raigad district in Maharashtra the next day.

The agency has filed the case under various sections of Indian Penal Code, including criminal conspiracy, murder, abduction, destruction of evidence, causing hurt by giving poison and Arms Act.

The CBI took over the investigation, which was earlier being probed by the Mumbai Police.

Indrani, Khanna and Rai have been arrested on charges of murdering Sheena and disposing off her body in a Raigad forest in April 2012.

The police had exhumed remains of a body from Raigad forest and later claimed that digital superimposition of the profile of Sheena had matched with the skull recovered from the forest. 

The police have also extensively grilled Indrani’s husband Peter Mukerjea, though he is not an accused in the case. Others questioned include Peter’s son Rahul Mukerjea and Indrani’s daughter from Khanna Vidhie. The police have also questioned Sheena’s biological father Siddharth Das.