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I met Peter for first time at police station, Rakesh Maria told CBI

According to a CBI source, the three officers were part of the initial probe team which investigated the case and arrested Indrani Mukerjea, the mother of the victim.

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Former top cop of Mumbai police Rakesh Maria, now Maharashtra's Director General (Home Guards), and two other senior officials of the force have been "examined" by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the Sheena Bora murder case.

According to a CBI source, the three officers were part of the initial probe team which investigated the case and arrested Indrani Mukerjea, the mother of the victim. The other two IPS officers examined are Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Deven Bharti and Deputy Commissioner of Police (zone IX) Satyanarayan Chaudhary.

The source said that Maria was asked by the team if he knew Peter Mukerjea—step-father of the victim—before the murder case came to light. "I had never met Peter before. The first and only time I met him was on September 7 at Khar police station...I got my transfer orders on September 8," Maria reportedly told the CBI. Maria also argued that if he really wanted to protect Peter, he would not have detected the case.

Maria reportedly further informed the CBI team that from 2012—when the murder had happened—Peter's son Rahul was knocking the doors of police complaining that Sheena was missing. "Nobody knew about it (murder) till 2015. If I wanted to protect Peter would I have detected the case?" he asked.

Maria was also reportedly asked by the team about his "keen interest" in visiting Khar police station to question the accused during police custody.

Maria reportedly gave all the minute details about his visit to the police station. Indrani was arrested in the case on August 25, 2015, while Maria was transferred on September 8.

"While holding charge, I had visited the police station four times. Around August 27—two or three days after the case was registered—I told our people that best of lawyers are appearing for these (accused) people so we also should have a battery of good lawyers. I visited the police station in the company of eight to 10 officers, including the joint commissioner. There was never a time when I was alone there," Maria reportedly told the CBI team.

"On August 27 and 28, when I went to the police station, the lawyer was called and there was a discussion on how to collect evidence and get conviction. The third time when I visited, it was decided that Shyamvar Rai should be made an approver and his role was examined. The last time I visited was on September 7, when I questioned Peter in the presence of everybody and the next day I got my transfer orders," Maria reportedly told the CBI team.

"We have examined and recorded statements of Maria, Bharti and Chaudhary. It was an important part of our procedure. Since these officers were part of the earlier investigation, we wanted to make inquiries with them about certain aspects of the case," said a CBI official, requesting anonymity.

Another police officer said that it is a Standard Operating Procedure that whenever the case is transferred from one state or one police agency to the CBI, the latter record statements of those connected with the case.

Sheena (24) was strangled in a car on April 24, 2012, in Mumbai, allegedly by her mother Indrani, Indrani's former husband Sanjeev Khanna and her former driver Shyamvar Rai and her body was burnt and dumped at a forest in Raigad, about 84 km from Mumbai. Her purported remains were found a month later and buried by the police, which treated the body as unclaimed.

Sheena was engaged to Rahul, son of media honcho Peter Mukerjea, Indrani's husband. Peter and Indrani had opposed Sheena's relationship with Rahul and this became one of the prime reasons for the murder, officials said.

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