Maharashtra government hands over Sheena Bora murder case to CBI

In a new twist, the Maharashtra Government decided to hand over the sensational Sheena Bora murder case to the CBI to ensure that investigation is carried out without any prejudice or interference

The State government on Friday decided to transfer the Sheena Bora murder case to the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) saying it wanted no interference from local officers in the case.

Also Read: Sheena murder: Confusion over Maria's 'supervisory' role in probe continues

Sheena Bora and Indrani Mukherjea. File pic

The probe, which is said to be in the final stages, had slowed down since the transfer of erstwhile police commissioner Rakesh Maria and his replacement by Ahmad Javed on September 8. Maria had a hands-on role in the investigation, and had deputed his trusted men to crack the mystery.

Also Read: Home dept reconsiders decision to bring Maria back to Sheena probe

Announcing the decision on Friday evening, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) K P Bakshi said the government wanted investigations to be conducted without any prejudice or interference from officers within the state.

However, he did not talk about interference, if any, from any officer who has been involved in the probe or any other entity not directly connected with the criminal investigations. Bakshi said DGP Sanjeev Dayal had submitted a status report of the Sheena case to the state, recommending that the investigations be transferred to the CBI.

Also Read: State authorises Maria to lead Sheena probe

He said a proposal was sent to the CBI after he had talks with CBI officials about transferring the case. “The CBI will not reject our proposal because we also discussed it with the CM before sending it,” said Bakshi.

mid-day had earlier reported how Maria’s abrupt ouster had drawn negative reactions from several quarters, following which, the state had sent a letter empowering him to continue to lead the Sheena probe.

This paper also reported on Thursday how the state then said it would wait for a status report to decide whether to bring Maria back in the case or not (‘State reconsiders decision to bring Maria back to Sheena probe’).

‘Routine transfer’
Maria, who is now the chief of Home Guards, is said to have refused the state’s offer to let him continue with the case, but Bakshi denied this.

“Neither did he say so to us, nor did we ask him (whether he wanted to pursue the case after his transfer),” Bakshi said, in a further attempt to negate the perception that Maria’s transfer and promotion had something to do with the Sheena case.

“Maria’s transfer was a routine process. It has no link whatsoever with the Sheena Bora murder case,” Bakshi added. Sources said investigators were close to making startling revelations, especially in terms of economic offences. They said many high-profile individuals were expected to face the heat following the revelations.

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