MUMBAI: In the ongoing Sheena Bora murder trial, Vidhie Mukerjea, daughter of accused Indrani Mukerjea and Sanjeev Khanna, claimed that her former stepbrother Rahul Mukerjea, who was Sheena’s former fiance, had confessed to being with Sheena on the night she disappeared in 2012 and even two days afterwards. According to Vidhie, Rahul made a “brazen” comment, suggesting that no one would ever know what happened to Sheena or where she went. “It is correct to say that Sheena was with Rahul at least till April 26, 2012,” she said.
Contradicting the CBI’s claims that Indrani and Sanjeev Khanna were in the city in April 2012 as part of a conspiracy to murder Sheena, Vidhie claimed that Indrani’s travel to Mumbai and Kolkata from London was solely to discuss enrolling her in a Kolkata school to strengthen her ties with her biological father’s family. During her cross-examination by Indrani’s lawyer Ranjeet Sangle, Vidhie stated, “It is correct to say that as Rahul had confessed before me that he picked up Sheena on the night of April 24, 2012, therefore, he was the last person who had been with Sheena.” She claimed that Rahul told her he had dropped Sheena off and then picked her up again from the same location, Amarson’s in Bandra, and that he was with her on April 26, 2012.Vidhie recounted having frequent conversations with Rahul at their residence after their parents’ arrest in 2015, where she pressed him for details about Sheena’s disappearance. Vidhie also mentioned that she had shared this information with her stepfathe”s sister, Shangon Das Gupta, who reportedly dismissed it, saying, “let’s sleep, tomorrow is a new day.” When asked about her relationship with Rahul, Vidhie revealed sensitive information, prompting the court to conduct the proceedings in camera, excluding the public and media.During the hearing Vidhie identified her sister’s voice in audio recordings made by Rahul. These recordings, allegedly from April 26-30, 2012, captured a conversation between Rahul and a Bora family employee, Kishor Barma, about Sheena’s disappearance. Vidhie said that a third voice, which she recognized as Sheena’s, appeared on the recording twice. The voice was heard urging, “tell Nana Nani to file a report.” Vidhie stated that she listened to the recordings over 100 times to be sure, and was certain of the voice due to Sheena’s distinctive Assamese accent, especially when she enunciated the word “report.”These claims contradict the CBI’s timeline, suggesting Sheena was alive and communicating with others after the night of her alleged murder. Vidhie described her reaction to hearing the voice as deeply emotional, stating, “That’s Sheena, I heard her voice …I am shaking inside… I know this… her accent is Assamese… it’s her…,”She alleged that after her mother’s arrest for the murder, a member of the Mukerjea family took Indrani’s personal laptop from their home in Spain without consent. The laptop, which contained personal documents, emails, and photos, could have proven the accused’s innocence, but was allegedly destroyed. She also challenged Rahul’s deposition regarding Khanna. Vidhie said that Rahul had lied about seeing Khanna when he dropped Sheena off on the night of her alleged murder.
