Former media baron Peter Mukerjea has agreed to grant divorce to his wife Indrani, the prime accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, her lawyer said on Monday. “We have received a reply from Mr. Mukerjea that he has agreed for a divorce by mutual consent,” Advocate Edith Dey said.
On January 17, 2017, Ms. Mukerjea told the Central Bureau of Investigation court that she wants to file for divorce. Ms. Mukerjea had addressed the court and then expressed her desire to file for a divorce petition against her second husband Mr. Mukerjea.
The divorce procedure may take some time as both are in jail, Ms. Dey told reporters outside the court. “We have received a reply through registered post from Peter’s lawyer and they have agreed to divorce by mutual consent,” she said.
When contacted, a lawyer from Peter Mukerjea’s side said on the condition of anonymity that a reply was sent to Indrani’s notice. He said, “We are working on the terms of the divorce.” Stating that the marriage had “irretrievably broken down”, Ms. Mukerjea had sent a divorce notice to Mr. Mukerjea in April this year. Sheena Bora (24), Ms. Mukerjea’s daughter from an earlier relationship, was killed in April 2012.
Meanwhile, Mr. Mukerjea’s lawyer Advocate Shrikant Shivade cross-examined Pradeep Waghmare, Ms. Mukerjea’s housekeeper, in the special CBI court on Monday. Earlier, Mr. Waghmare had told the court that Rahul, Mr. Mukerjea’s son and Sheena’s boyfriend, had asked him about Sheena’s whereabouts, to which he said, “He does not know as he was away for three days.”
On June 4 this year, Mr. Waghmare made a statement in court that when he told Mr. Mukerjea about Rahul’s inquiry. He had said, “ Madam ne Sheena ko Rahul se chhudaya hai, koi baat nahin. [Madam has rescued Sheena from Rahul, it’s okay].”
Advocate Shivade told the court that in an earlier statement submitted to CBI in 2015, Mr. Waghmare had stated that Mr. Mukerjea had said, “ Madam ne Rahul ko Sheena se alag karvaaya hai isiliye Rahul gusse main hoga. [Madam has broken up Rahul’s relationship with Sheena, that’s why he is angry]”. He highlighted that the words “ chhudaya hain ” had not been told to the CBI by Mr. Waghmare.
Asked to explain this change in statements, Mr. Waghmare said that the conversation had taken place a long time ago. Both lawyers submitted that there were some contradictions in his statement to the police. He had told the police, which probed the case before the CBI took over, that he had sought ₹20,000 from Indrani for his children’s education, and when she refused, he got angry and quit.
However, in the court, Mr. Waghmare said this was not his reason for quitting, and the police had put words in his mouth. The next hearing is scheduled for June 25.
