Was it a close friend’s hubby who tipped off cops?

Opposition party in Maharastra NCP has alleged that top cop Rakesh Maria was abruptly transferred owing to “political pressure” from Centre and to stop the probe into the money laundering angle in INX Media, founded by Indrani Mukerjea, prime accused in Sheena Bora murder case, and her husband Peter Mukerjea.
“The was done so as to stop investigations into the money laundering angle into INX Media, floated by Peter and Indrani Mukerjea, in which foreign companies from Singapore, UK and USA had invested about Rs.500 crore,” NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said. He was reacting to the appointment of Ahmed Javed as the city police commissioner, while Rakesh Maria was made DG (Home Guards).

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is reportedly probing the alleged forex violations by INX Media. Mr Maria’s abrupt transfer was due to political pressure from Delhi, he alleged. Describing Mr Maria as an “upright officer”, NCP state unit president Sunil Tatkare said labelling the former as being close to the NCP leadership was “unfair and unjust”. “Maria has an unblemished career as an upright police officer and it is improper to label him as the one being close to NCP,” Tatkare said. Maria had been appointed as police commissioner in place of Satyapal Singh who resigned to contest Lok Sabha elections last year. Tatkare said the NDA government needed to clarify on “abrupt” shunting out of Mr Maria, just 20-22 days before his scheduled promotion.

Who was the anonymous caller who set the ball rolling in the Sheena Bora murder case? As speculation continues around the all-important question that led to the unravelling of the conspiracy, a leading daily from Mumbai in a news story has claimed that the caller who tipped off the Mumbai police is the Meerut-based husband of one of Sheena’s closest friends.

The man works with one of the armed forces and is currently posted in Meerut, friends close to Sheena have disclosed, refuting the many theories doing the rounds, including one that the call came from a socialite friend of Peter and Indrani Mukerjea, reported the daily.

The daily reported that according to Sheena’s friends, the couple was alarmed when she stopped communicating suddenly. The couple even went to Indrani later to find out Sheena’s whereabouts. Indrani had reportedly threatened them, after which they left. They also spoke to Rahul Mukerjea, who did not actively pursue the case after Indrani told the cops that he was stalking Sheena.

“They kept quiet for good measure. But then, suddenly, as a last resort they went to the police. The husband called the police and narrated what they knew, and I can tell you with confidence that they were privy to a lot of Sheena’s personal ongoings,” explained a close friend of Sheena who now resides in Mumbai. He says the friend chooses to remain anonymous, because her husband is in one of the wings of the armed forces and has been asked by his office not to be seen in the media.

The Mumbai-based friend of Sheena, who met her several times while she was in college in Mumbai, says that after Indrani brought her to Mumbai for higher studies, Sheena seemed happy initially. “Her mother gave her a very comfortable life; a car was always at her disposal, and she would often meet Bollywood stars,” he says. “But when she became financially independent, Sheena realised that she needed legitimacy and not the money. Perhaps, that is the reason she is no more.”