Indrani Mukerjea was slapped in custody, claim lawyers

As dramatic as the Sheena Bora murder case and the details that have emerged, court proceedings on Monday saw prime accused Indrani Mukerjea fainting, weeping and hugging her daughter Vidhie from second husband Sanjeev Khanna, also an accused, while the prosecution and defence traded charges. Peter Mukerjea's son Robin was present in court.

While the Bandra Magistrate Court in Mumbai sent the three accused, including Indrani's driver Shamvar Rai, to police custody till September 5, Indrani was also slapped with an additional charge under Section 328 (causing hurt by poison) of the IPC as Mikhail Bora claimed that she tried to kill him. Police said that Mikhail was administered poison in his drink (alcohol).

The court rejected the contention of defence lawyers Gunjan Mangla and Hrishikesh Mundergi that since the two have been in police custody for sufficient time it should not be extended any further.

Seeking bail, Indrani's lawyer Gunjan Mangla claimed that Indrani was subjected to physical assault in police custody and had bruises on her face. She alleged that Indrani was allowed to meet her lawyer only once and that too in police presence. She also accused police of denying Indrani basic rights of meeting her relatives and lawyer despite court orders. She pointed out that her client, who had been in six days' custody earlier was interrogated for 80 to 90 hours, and there was no need for an extension of the remand. "She had been confronted with others; taken to every location; and police is not investigating the crime, rather trying to recreate it," Gunjan alleged.

Khanna's lawyer Hrishikesh Mundaragi urged that his client be sent to judicial custody. "Only forensic report is awaited so there is no need for further police custody," he said.

Police suspect some more people outside the state might have been involved in the crime and efforts were on to establish the financial trail. Communication between Khanna and Indrani was through online means, police said, adding they want to trace Sheena's mobile and clothes. They moved an application, contending that the accused should not be allowed to consume home food while in custody as it could be laced with poison. The prosecution argued that the investigation was far from over as they wanted to search the offices of the accused. While spot identification had been done, crime scene recreation was still pending, adding that the murder weapon needed to be recovered.