Sheena case: After claiming forgery, witness Vidhie now says CBI indeed recorded her statement

Mumbai, Sep 4 (PTI) Vidhie Mukerjea, a key prosecution witness in the Sheena Bora murder case, claimed in an affidavit submitted in a Mumbai court on Thursday that the CBI had recorded her statement after the arrest of her mother and key accused Indrani in 2015, reversing her earlier stand.

The claim was in complete contrast to her earlier assertion, made during deposition two days ago, wherein she denied recording any statement before probe agencies and said documents annexed as her statement in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chargesheet were "forged and fabricated".

The 28-year-old is a daughter of former media executive Indrani Mukerjea and her ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna, both accused in the decade-long sensational murder case.

Victim Bora was also a daughter of Indrani Mukerjea from an earlier relationship.

Vidhie Mukerjea said she had prepared the affidavit in 2022 for submission in case she was "physically unavailable for deposition before the court".

As per the affidavit, she resides in Spain and visits Mumbai to be with her family during holidays.

She has been deposing as a witness in the murder case for the past three days, and submitted her affidavit on Thursday before a special CBI court. Her deposition has concluded.

"I say that my statement was recorded by the CBI after my mother's arrest (in 2015), when I was living at Marlow (a building in Mumbai's Worli) with my (step) father (former media baron Peter Mukerjea), the Mukerjea family and Rahul (son of Peter). I had just turned 18 years old and was in a completely confused state of mind and scared due to the arrest of my mother," the affidavit said.

Shedding light on her family relationships, Vidhie Mukerjea's affidavit stated that Indrani (who later married Peter Mukerjea, and they divorced in 2019) never asked nor insisted on Sheena calling "my mother as didi and/or calling my (step) father (Peter)"Jij" or Sheena as "didi".

She claimed also always treated Rabin and Rahul (Peter Mukerjea's sons from an earlier marriage) as "my older brothers, but Rahul never considered or treated me and Sheena as younger sisters".

She stressed Rahul harboured a grudge against Indrani for marrying Peter Mukerjea, who is also an accused in the murder case.

Indrani Mukerjea, on the other hand, had a "soft corner" for Rahul and was always "concerned about his wellbeing, educational and financial stability", the affidavit said, adding but he (Rahul) "always misunderstood Indrani".

Vidhie Mukerjea described how Rahul maintained emotional distance and kept Sheena away from the family from 2009 to 2012.

The affidavit claimed Rahul would "spy" on Sheena and while he himself was not working at the time, he was "furious" when Sheena got a job offer based on Indrani Mukerjea's reference.

Vidhie asserted she never sent Sheena any messages warning about threats from Indrani, refuting claims to this effect reportedly made by Rahul Mukerjea in the court. She alleged Rahul pressured her to back his version of the entire episode after Indrani Mukerjea's arrest in 2015.

Vidhie's affidavit stated Indrani Mukerjea never told her that Sheena was in the USA, studying there, or that she "is married to a diamond merchant there" (as claimed by the prosecution).

Meanwhile, Vidhie was on Thursday cross-examined by Peter Mukerjea's lawyer Manjula Rao.

When Rao asked the witness about her book "Devil's Daughter", Vidhie Mukerjea said she doesn't stand by the contents of the book and felt bad about writing it.

"For four years, I have felt bad about writing it," she said.

Asked why she hadn't stopped its publication, she explained the publishing house had shutdown.

Vidhie Mukerjea claimed she had tried to issue a public notice stating the book's contents were incorrect, but was unable to do so.

As per the prosecution, Bora (24) was strangled in a car by her mother Indrani Mukerjea, Indrani's driver Shyamvar Rai (who later turned approver) and Khanna in Mumbai on April 24, 2012.

Her body was burnt and disposed of in a forest in adjoining Raigad district, the prosecution claims.

The murder case initially probed by the Mumbai police and later handed over to the CBI. PTI AVI RSY