Testifying as a witness in the Sheena Bora murder case, Rahul Mukerjea, son of former media baron Peter Mukerjea, said he developed feelings for her in 2007-08 when in Mumbai and continued the relationship after knowing she was Indrani Mukerjea’s daughter and technically his step sister, as they “were not blood relatives”, reported Times of India.
“It is true to say that initially I had cordial relations with Indrani, and later on turned sour,” Rahul replied to a question from Indrani’s counsel Ranjit Sangle.
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Rahul said he had a cordial relationship with his father and initially with Indrani too “but then we had an argument and since then it turned sour.” “I visited my father and Sheena. I did not classify Indrani as my parent,” Rahul was quoted as saying by Times of India.
Rahul also denied having any knowledge about Rs 10 lakh being paid to police for not registering a road accident case against him.
He told court it was not "really" an accident and that he had not crashed into the pregnant woman while riding a motorcycle.
On Monday, Rahul Mukerjea was cross examined by Indrani Mukerjea's lawyer Ranjeet Sangle before special CBI Judge SP Naik-Nimbalkar in connection with the 2012 Sheena Bora murder case. Indrani Mukerjea is a prime accused in the case and is out on bail.
The murder case was registered in 2015, three years after Sheena Bora was allegedly killed by her mother with the help of co-accused Sanjeev Khanna and Shyamvar Rai.
Responding to a question about an accident in 2010, Rahul Mukerjea said it is true he met with an accident while riding a motorcycle, but asserted it was not correct to say he crashed into a pregnant lady.
Replying to another question on the incident, he said, "I don't know if the pregnant lady lost her child due the accident."
On the defence advocate saying that former policeman Sohail Buddha paid police Rs 10 lakh to ensure an FIR was not registered, Rahul Mukerjea said he was "not aware" of this development. Sohail Buddha never informed him about this, he added.
Rahul Mukherjea further said, "It was not really an accident. I had stopped my bike before any impact with the lady. However, the lady fell and raised a hue and cry. The police came and took my motorcycle. Then, I informed my father (Peter Mukerjea) and he got in touch with the police," the witness explained.
In response to another question, Rahul Mukerjea admitted he was in a physical relationship with Sheena even after coming to know she was Indrani's daughter and "technically" his step sister.
"It is true I had no hesitation moral or ethical to continue a relationship with Sheena Bora after realizing she is my step sister and Indrani' s daughter. Since, we were not blood related and were consenting adults," he said. His cross examination will continue on Tuesday.
As per the Central Bureau of Investigation, Indrani disapproved of Sheena's relationship with Rahul. Indrani also had financial disputes with Sheena, the CBI has said. Besides Indrani, other accused in the case include Peter Mukerjea and Sanjeev Khanna. All of them are currently out on bail.
