Sheena and Mikhail Bora were Indrani’s children from an earlier relationship. Sheena was allegedly killed by Indrani in April 2012, as per the CBI. (File)
In the Sheena Bora murder case, cross-examination of the fourth prosecution witness, the domestic help of the key accused, Indrani and Peter Mukerjea, commenced Monday. Pradeep Waghmare was working with the Mukerjeas from 2009 to 2015. Waghmare told the court that in 2014, he came to know that Indrani was Mekhail and Sheena Bora’s mother, and not sister, as she had told everyone.
This, Waghmare told the court, was revealed to him by Mekhail during a phone conversation. “I got acquainted with Mekhail in 2006. He began contacting me around 2007-08. I used to talk to him on the phone frequently. I never called him, but used to get calls from him,” Waghmare told the court.
He was answering questions in the cross-examination by defence lawyer Sudeep Pasbola, representing Indrani.
Sheena and Mikhail Bora were Indrani’s children from an earlier relationship. Sheena was allegedly killed by Indrani in April 2012, as per the CBI.
Waghmare had earlier told the court that in 2014 Indrani had sent him to Kolkata to bring some medicines from a man, named Sujit, but had returned after he could not find him there.
Waghmare told the court, on Monday, that he had tried to contact Sujit, but returned after he could not get through his phone.
On being asked if he knew Sujit’s phone number, Waghmare told the court that he had it on the phone he was using at that time and that he had given it to Khar police during the investigation.
The initial investigation was carried out by Khar police before the case was transferred to the CBI. The defence pointed out that the panchnama at the time of the investigation did not mention the phone.
Pasbola questioned Waghmare on whether he had informed the CBI during his subsequent interrogation about the phone, to which he said he had not. The cross-examination will continue on Tuesday.
Special Judge J C Jadgale also directed the CBI to file its reply on the bail application filed by the accused-turned-approver Shyamvar Rai in the case.
Rai, who completed his deposition as a prosecution witness before the court, wrote to the court in March from Thane jail, where he is lodged seeking bail pending trial.