'Witness' claims he had seen Indrani Mukerjea, others in Raigad forest

Mumbai, Nov 28: A gymnasium instructor has told the CBI that he had seen Indrani Mukerjea, her former husband Sanjeev Khanna and driver Shyamvar Rai at a forested patch in the neighbouring Raigad district, where Sheena Bora's remains were found earlier this year on April 25, 2012.

According to the CBI, Indrani and the other two strangled her daughter Sheena (24) inside a car on April 24, 2012, and then disposed of the body in a forest in Raigad district.

"I came to know (about the case) and remembered the visit of three persons (two male and a female) at the place," claimed Raigad-based Sandeep Patil, whose statement is a part of the chargesheet filed by the central agency.

Patil claims it was while watching the news about Sheena Bora murder case on TV in August 2015 that he remembered seeing the three.

"They were the same persons seen by me who hurriedly alighted from the car and stood silently".

He then approached the suburban Khar police (who were probing the case at that point) and informed them, he says, adding that he identified Indrani, Khanna and Rai in jail during an identification parade. However, defence lawyer Shreyansh Mithare questioned the delay.

"What took him so long to report it to the police? Why is there a gap of three years?" he asked, commenting on the statement.

PTI