According to a detailed analysis of the call data records (CDRs) of the accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, the victim may have been alive till at least 8:30 pm (if not 9:20 pm) on the fateful evening of 24 April 2012. She was allegedly murdered by three persons, including her mother Indrani Mukerjea.
The CDR details from various locations – of Indrani, her former husband Sanjeev Khanna, driver Shyamwar Rai and her son Mikhail Bora, who was present in Mumbai on 24 April 2012 – raises doubts about the Mumbai Police and CBI’s assertion that Sheena was killed inside an Opel Astra somewhere in Pali Hill sometime between 6:30 pm and 7:30 pm.
CBI Chargesheet
According to the CBI’s 19 November chargesheet, which was largely found on the Mumbai Police’s investigation:
- Sheena was dropped by Rahul Mukerjea, Peter Mukerjea’s son from a previous marriage at 6:30 pm near Amarsons showroom on Linking Road.
- Khanna was allegedly present near the car, smoking.
- Sheena then boarded the rented Chevrolet Optra, which Rai was driving, before the vehicle headed towards Pali Hill.
CBI’s Version of the Murder
Scenario I
- Sheena was drugged.
- Indrani strangled her, Khanna held her hair.
- Rai took part in the killing, his arm was bitten by Sheena.
- Next day, Sheena’s body was burnt in Raigad.
Sheena was soon given a bottle of water, mixed with a drug. As she turned drowsy, Indrani strangled her, while Khanna held her hair. Rai took part in the killing, and in the process, his arm was bitten by Sheena. The CBI chargesheet goes on to claim that the next day, the trio took Sheena’s body, which was placed in a sitting position on the rear seat of the same car, to a forested area of Raigad and burnt it.
The CBI decided not to enclose Khanna’s CDR with its first chargesheet. This would have conclusively proved Khanna’s presence or absence at Linking Road and Pali Hill in Bandra. The suppression of this information also raises red flags, and questions Mikhail Bora’s presence at the Mukerjea’s Marlow apartment on 24 April 2012 and not probing the role of Sameer Buddha (Indrani’s former INX Media colleague) that same evening. So how robust and foolproof was the CBI’s investigation?
Besides, Indrani and Rai’s CDR details show that there was phone activity at the time the agency claims Sheena was murdered (6:30 pm to 7:30 pm), which raises the question whether the murder took place elsewhere later that night.
The CBI has not produced any bill from Amarsons showroom from where, Indrani claims, she purchased a saree for Sheena.
Scenario II
- Sheena reaches Marlow with Sameer Buddha.
- Mikhail was at Marlow, drinking.
- Mikhail claims he saw Indrani leave Marlow at 2:30 am.
- CDR shows Indrani was in the house from at least 10 pm until 4 am.
It is likely that there was a second scenario in which Sheena reaches Marlow (Peter Mukerjea’s residence) from Taj Lands End Hotel, accompanied by Sameer Buddha, around 9:27 pm. Mikhail was at Marlow that time, drinking. If one considers the nature of emails sent to Indrani by Mikhail around the day of the murder, and if Sheena did visit Marlow that evening, is the CBI sure that Mikhail had no role in her murder?
Read: Photos, E-mails of Sheena and Peter Presented as Evidence: Mikhail
The CBI has glossed over other crucial inconsistencies in Mikhail’s statement – for instance, Mikhail has claimed that he saw Indrani leave the Marlow apartment around 2:30 am on 25 April 2015, but her CDR shows she was in her house from 10 pm , leaving around 4 am on 25 April 2012. In fact, at 2:30 am, she had a long telephonic conversation with Peter Mukerjea.
Was Sheena at Taj Lands End?
- Driver Rai’s location is recorded to be at Taj Lands End.
- Indrani had two Margaritas to drink, Sheena had one and a piece of cake.
- At 8:23 pm, Rahul receives a text from Sheena.
- Many phone calls and text messages exchanged between Indrani, Mikhail, Rai and Sameer Buddha.
- Post 8:30 pm, Rahul receives text messages from Sheena.
- No bills or CCTV footage presented by CBI.
CDR details suggest that at 7:24 pm, Indrani sent Sanjeev Khanna an SMS. At 7:24 pm, Indrani called Sameer Buddha (brother of Sohail Buddha, a former cop and an ex-colleague of Peter Mukerjea at Star TV) for 12 seconds. After this, Rai drove her to Hotel Taj Land’s End in Bandra at 7:33 pm. This is confirmed by Rai’s location, as reflected in the CDR – the mobile tower number for Hotel Land’s End at that point in time is 7604.
Seven minutes after reaching Taj Lands End, Indrani sent two texts to Mikhail, who appears to have flown into Mumbai earlier that the day, even calling his mother at 2:31 pm when the two spoke for 161 seconds.
Around 7.55pm, Indrani received a short 5-second call from Rai. A few days later, Indrani told Rahul Mukerjea that by that time, she had two Margaritas to drink, while Sheena had one drink and a piece of cake. At 8:23 pm, Rahul received SMSs from Sheena’s phone saying she was “enjoying drinks”.
Meanwhile, Rai received a call from Mikhail at 8:23 pm that lasted 69 seconds. At 8.29 pm, Indrani also texted Mikhail. Seconds later she called Sameer Buddha. A minute later, at 8.30 pm, she made a 19-second call to Rai as well.
The tower locations for Indrani and Rai at these times was Hotel Taj Lands End.
Neither bills, nor CCTV footage from the Taj have been submitted by the CBI.
It would have been crucial for the police to check if Sheena was alive, especially with Indrani at Taj Land’s End, but the CBI has not annexed the bills for the drinks and cake Indrani (and perhaps Sheena) had, nor has it produced the hotel’s CCTV footage of the time. Assuming Sheena was still alive, it is unclear whether Sheena and Indrani left the hotel together or another person picked up Sheena from Taj Lands End.
- Could Sameer Buddha have played some role on 24 April 2015?
- Did Indrani call him to Taj Lands End to accompany Sheena to Marlow, or some third location?
In fact, neither Mumbai Police nor the CBI have taken a statement from Buddha about the call he received from Indrani at 8.29 pm on that fateful day.
At 8:31 pm, Rahul received a text from Sheena’s phone saying “Going for Chinese”. At 8.38 pm Rahul got received more SMSs from Sheena.
- Were these texts sent by Indrani, posing as Sheena?
- Or, was Sheena still alive?
These questions have not been fully explored by the police.
At 8.55 pm, Indrani texted Mikhail again, followed by two texts to Khanna at 8:56 and 8:57 pm respectively. She sent another one to Mikhail at 8:59 pm. By this time, the tower location for Indrani’s phone had changed. She had left Taj Land’s End.
SMS to Siddhartha Das
- Sheena Bora’s phone could be under the control of Indrani.
- Siddhartha Das is the father of Sheena and first husband of Indrani.
- The Quint calls Das.
Between 9:21 and 9:27 pm, Indrani made a call to Sanjeev Khanna and two calls to Mikhail as well. Between 10:02 and 11:59 pm, Rahul and Indrani received several more text messages from Sheena (or Indrani, a charade she allegedly continued for months after Sheena’s killing).
But here is a twist – Sheena Bora’s incomplete CDR shows that at 9:51 pm, she (or Indrani?) sent an SMS to her Kolkata-based father (Indrani’s first husband), Siddhartha Das. Five minutes later Mikhail received a short 8-second call from Indrani.
When The Quint called up Das, he refused to say anything on receiving a text from Sheena’s phone on the night of 24 April 2012. When asked if he told Mumbai Police that “I am not sure whether Mikhail is my son”, Das said “no comments.”
If Mikhail was not as close to Sheena as he originally professed, and if Sheena did reach Marlow on the night of 24 April, could it be that Mikhail knows more about the murder? He says he was at the Mukerjea home having drinks that were spiked by Indrani, who meant to kill him as well. But if it were not so, why was he at Marlow?
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