02 July,2016 08:50 AM IST | | Sailee Dhayalkar
Driver Shyamvar Rai gives a blow-by-blow account of how Indrani Mukerjea wanted to bump off both her children, sedated Sheena Bora and strangled her, and then burnt her body
Former media baroness Indrani Mukerjea allegedly strangled her daughter, Sheena, inside her car on April 24, 2012.
On April 24, 2012, around 9 am, Indrani and Rai drive to a pharmacy and a liquor shop to pick up vodka and sedatives
In his statement taken under Section 163 of the CRPC before a magistrate after he was made an approver in the case, her driver, Shyamvar Rai, has recalled how methodically and ruthlessly Indrani executed her plan.
Also read: Sheena Bora case: All 3 accused to get copy of approver's statement
Rai went into the minutest details - from Indrani buying sedatives and scouting for locations to dump the body, to holding down and choking Sheena.
Rai drives Indrani home and the duo spike the mineral water bottles with vodka and sedatives at her house
He, however, didn't make any allegation against Indrani's husband, Peter Mukerjea (who, too, has been arrested in the case), claimed the media honcho's lawyer, Mihir Gheewala.
Also read: Sheena Bora murder case: Driver pardoned as he turns approver
The special CBI court on Friday handed over the statement to all the accused in the case.
Around 6 pm, they pick up Sanjeev Khanna, and Sheena near National College. Indrani offers her the spiked water
Reacting to the statement, Khanna's lawyer, Shreyansh Mithare, said Rai is CBI's "tutored witness".
Getting him on board
The nefarious murder plot began to take shape in March 2012 when Indrani allegedly told her assistant, Kajal Sharma, to create a Skype account for Rai.
Rai drives towards Pali Hill. He notices that Sheena has lost consciousness during the drive.
During one of her Skype chats with Rai, she reportedly told him that she trusted him completely and expected him to keep to himself her plan to kill her children - Sheena and Mikhail.
She also allegedly tried to buy his loyalty by promising to take care of his family's medical expenses and his children's education. She also assured him lifetime employment.
Mum's the word
Once she was sure Rai was on board, Indrani allegedly told him the reason why she wanted to kill Sheena and Mikhail.
She claimed that her "reputation" was being sullied with Sheena and Mikhail insisting on calling her "Maa", and Sheena continuing to date Peter's son, Rahul, despite being warned against it. She was also embroiled in a bitter fight over property with her children, said Rai.
The trio head back to Worli. Rai dumps Sheena's body in a bag in the garage. They decide to kill Mikhail later
To put an end to her 'troubles', Indrani allegedly hatched a plan to bump both her children off.
Spots to dump bodies
On March 23, 2012, Indrani told Rai to take her to Lonavla from the old Mumbai-Pune highway.
Rai gets a call from Indrani at 4 am the next day. They drive towards Panvel highway. On reaching Pen, they dump Sheena's body, pour petrol on it and Indrani sets it on fire. Graphic/Uday Mohite
At Lonavla, Rai bought a 20-litre can on Indrani's orders. The two then went to Khandala. At one spot there, Indrani allegedly got out of the car, looked around and said it was an apt place to dispose of Mikhail's body.
They headed for Khopoli. Indrani told Rai to drive via the Pen road, and halted at two places on the way.
She allegedly finalised a third spot at the jungles of Pen near Raigad to dump Sheena's body and directed Rai to remember all the locations. On the way back, Indrani picked up two bags.
