Even as the recent Sheena Bora tapes add more spice to one of the most intriguing and arcane murders in recent times, it might be a while before the trial on the case begins.
The tapes are recorded bits of telephonic conversation between the three primary dramatis personae in the case—Peter Mukherjea, Indrani Mukherjea and Peter's son Rahul Mukherjea. The tapes bring out instances when “Sheena's disappearance” were clearly referred to by Peter, as he is heard asking his son to stop making a fuss over Sheena's absence. Peter even went a step ahead and postulated to Rahul, what he would eventually do if Sheena disappeared from of his life. Rahul, who was in love with Sheena, seemed desperate to figure out where Sheena is in the face of repeated lies dished out to him by Indrani.
With Rahul revealing the tapes, the case has assumed a new dramatic overtone as Peter has a lot to answer. But questions remain as to why Rahul took so much time to “come out with the tapes.” And is this yet another attempt at cover-up?
However, CBI officials believe that the conversations are clinching by way of their evidentiary nature and nail Peter's complicity and culpability as he may have all along been in the know of things and been “kept posted” by his wife Indrani. But the CBI in its final chargesheet, which is yet to be filed, on the case should be more conclusive as to claim that Peter “knew it all” and was an active accomplice in the killing of Sheena.
If the murder story is replete with mysterious twists and turns, the investigation into the killing too had its own share of controversies and insinuations. Mumbai top cop Rakesh Maria and his team of officers were shifted out of the case after the Maharashtra government decided to ask the CBI to take over the case in September last year. The timeline of the story too is confusing as Indrani involved her former husband Sanjeev in the plot to murder Sheena. Sheena was Indrani's daughter through her marriage with Siddharth.
Sheen's body remains were recovered in August last year, three years after she went missing in 2012. Indrani's driver incidentally blew the lid off the worst murder involving an influential family and their weird ways.
With the case trudging towards trial, Gunjan Mangla and Mihir Gheewala, representing Indrani and Peter seem unhappy with the way the tapes were played out in the media. Gheewala cautioned the CBI in the courts on Friday that it would do well to protect potential evidence and documentary materials from being “used” by the media. The matter stands adjourned till September 13.
