Peter Mukerjea was not part of the conspiracy to murder his wife Indrani’s daughter Sheena Bora since he returned to the place of crime (Mumbai) from the UK on 26 April 2012, two days after the murder, his lawyer Mihir Gheewala told The Quint in an exclusive interview a day after audio tapes released by a TV news channel suggested he was involved in a cover-up of the killing.
“Would any sensible person return to the place of crime when he could easily have stayed behind in the UK,” Gheewala asked, claiming that his client, Peter Mukerjea, is innocent and that the audio tapes were a means to “draw attention towards Peter” because the CBI does not want other aspects of the case revealed.
Speaking to The Quint over phone, Gheewala said that the release of the audio clips, which Peter’s son Rahul Mukerjea had earlier handed over to the Mumbai Police and subsequently the CBI after the central probe agency took over the murder case, was a “violation of the judicial process” as they were part of court records.
Claiming that the tapes, which “are out of context”, could adversely affect witnesses and other potential witnesses, Gheewala said they would be “prejudiced”. While admitting that the audio tapes “are admissible as evidence provided some parameters are met”, Gheewala emphatically said that the conspiracy to murder Sheena “goes beyond the accused” (now in judicial custody), hinting at the involvement of persons that the CBI is unwilling to investigate at this point of time.
There are emails between father and son, husband and wife. One must see these audio tapes in the totality of all other evidence. Peter is innocent and was not part of the conspiracy.Mihir Gheewala
Here is a recording of the full conversation with Peter’s lawyer.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)