MUMBAI: In the ongoing trial in the murder of Sheena Bora, Vidhie Mukerjea, the victim's sister, concluded her deposition on Thursday before the special CBI court. Over the past two days, Vidhie made several allegations, including claims of financial misconduct by her stepbrothers, the presence of Rahul Mukerjea with Sheena after the alleged murder date, and alleged abuse of drugs by Rahul from 2010.
Her deposition on Thursday was frequently punctuated with phrases like "I was young then," "I do not remember," and "this is private or my privileged information."
During her cross-examination by Manjula Rao, the lawyer for her accused stepfather
Peter Mukerjea, Vidhie recounted she was sent to the UK within a week following her mother's arrest. She mentioned returning to India briefly in Oct 2015 and being unable to return until Dec of that year.
In earlier cross-examination by her mother
Indrani Mukerjea's lawyer, Ranjeet Sangle, Vidhie claimed after her mother and Peter's arrests in Aug and Nov 2015, she had frequent conversations with her stepbrother Rahul Mukerjea, who allegedly told her about dropping Sheena off to meet Indrani on April 24, 2012, and later picking her up, also suggesting that no one would ever know what happened to her. Due to the sensitive nature of some of Vidhie's subsequent revelations about Rahul, the court then conducted parts of the proceedings in camera.
Vidhie also discussed her book, ‘Devil's Daughter,' and in response to Rao's questions, said that she wrote it in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic while she was in Hong Kong and when travel restrictions were imposed. During Sangle's cross-examination earlier on Tuesday and Wednesday, she submitted that the book was influenced by lies and false accusations against her mother, fed to her by Rahul and media reports, and stated that she no longer stands by its contents.
Responding to Rao's questions, she admitted feeling regret about its contents but took no action to stop its publication due to the publishing house's closure. When asked about returning the advance money, she questioned the necessity of doing so. "I do not understand your question," she said.
On Thursday, she admitted to engaging an advocate (Sangle) to file an application to stay with her mother in 2022 but later relinquished her rights due to a "conflict of interest." Sangle told the court that he informed the then judge that his representation was for a limited purpose for a daughter to meet the mother. She subsequently engaged a new lawyer to represent her.
When questioned about a bank account in New Zealand, Vidhie refused to provide details, citing it as "privileged information." She denied any large sum of money being transferred to her account by Peter's lawyer and did not recall carrying a letter from her father to remove his name from a joint account while her parents were in jail. When asked by Rao if money was credited to her account via transfer, Vidhie refused to answer, "It's private information, unless you are an ANZ representative, I cannot tell. I am not privileged to say that," she said.
Vidhie affirmed knowledge of a case in Delhi involving her parents but denied knowing that former union minister P Chidambaram and his son, Karthi, were also accused. She also stated she was unaware of her father Peter's allegations against her mother for forging his signature to remove his name from a joint bank account while both were in jail. Vidhie affirmed that she never had grievances against her father, Peter, who provided her with a good education and life. She acknowledged receiving UK citizenship due to her association with Peter and recalled a holiday to Rome with only him in 2012. However, when asked if the holiday was during Easter, she could not recall.
Living in Central London, Vidhie accepted she had access to her stepbrother Rabin Mukerjea's house for any help. She also admitted that Rabin accompanied her to college following her parents' arrests. She mentioned selling luxury shoes as a "side hustle" to make money during her university years.
When asked by Rao about Peter and Indrani's divorce settlement, Vidhie said she did not know about her mother relinquishing rights to a flat in the Marlow building, Worli, and other shared assets. She also mentioned that during her time at Marlow, the household had four to five helpers. A 2022 affidavit submitted by Vidhie also included details previously deposed in court.