OTT platform Netflix on Thursday told the Bombay high court that it would not release the documentary series on Indrani Mukerjea, who is facing trial for allegedly killing her daughter Sheena Bora, till February 29.
Throughout, Mekhail spoke calmly, with hardly an inflection making even the barest attempt to hijack his tone. His tone was so empty it made his narrative all the more touching. And ugly and grey, as the monsoon sky beyond the window.
A local court remanded Indrani and her driver Shyam Rai to judicial custody for two weeks while the other accused Sanjay Khanna was taken to Kolkata for being produced in a court there.
Special Judge H S Mahajan also granted pardon to Rai, who is currently lodged in Thane Central Jail.
On May 11, Shyamvar Rai had sought to turn approver, saying he wants to "disclose all truths" as he had taken part in Sheena's killing by strangulation and was present at the time of the murder in 2012.
Shyamvar Rai had written a two-page letter to the court stating that he wants to reveal the truth and had sought pardon in the case.
In her 17-page bail plea moved through her lawyer, the former media executive said that her medical condition is deteriorating and she has lost 18 kilograms in four months.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday told a court that financial transaction was the motive behind Sheena Bora's murder and that her step-father Peter Mukerjea, a former media magnate and one of the four accused, had knowledge of some incriminating documents.
More noticeable than the hue of his shirt was his mast style in the witness box. He seemed to be reinventing the truth every few minutes. He yarned on and on, navigating his testimony further and further away from the facts, but he never lost his aplomb.
The spotlight had fallen on Maria and his crack team after the CBI arrested media baron Peter Mukherjea last year. There were allegations that Maria had not probed the property angle in the case and not quizzed Mukherjea.
In his bail plea, Peter refuted the CBI's contention that he and Indrani hatched the conspiracy to murder Sheena.
The ripping off the lid, that Mekhail did, on the chain of episodes that lead up to his sister's murder, while condemning Indrani for her actions, for the first time, paradoxically, allowed a more human -- if flawed and complicated -- picture to emerge of Indrani, allegedly The Woman Who Killed Her Own Daughter and shocked a nation.
On Thursday, media magnate Peter Mukerjea was arrested in the Sheena Bora murder case. Here are the top developments in the story.
Sources said the police found a blood-soaked message: 'Tired of her, catch and hang me', written on the floor of the flat near Deepali's body, with a smiley emoticon.
Much to his surprise, Peter finds Sanjeev indicating he should sit in the middle, next to Indrani. This spot is normally occupied by Sanjeev, Indrani's former husband, who has probably found himself a willy-nilly barrier between the warring couple. The Mukerjeas, clearly, had matters to discuss.
As they were not happy with her relationship with Peter's son Rahul.
Early on Friday morning, the team of police officials and forensic experts from Mumbai had reached Gagode Budruk village in Pen teshil and the digging had started around 6 am.
A local court in Mumbai on Thursday allowed the CBI to question afresh Indrani Mukerjea and two other arrested accused in the Sheena Bora murder case.
Sanjeev Khanna stepped out of his usual sort of absent-minded personality to actively 'log into' the hearing, following the testimony alertly, at times standing up in the accused box to catch all of what was being said. His co-accused Peter Mukerjea and Indrani Mukerjea were less attentive, but were not switched off either.
Ever since Mekhail had first entered the courtroom, he had, it would seem, never once looked at his mother, though they were a few metres away from each other. Curiosity, residual regard, memories, anger, none of it, could make him even look at the woman who gave birth to him. Was his hatred so overpowering?
Lawyer Amit Ghag got up to tell the judge that Shrikant Shivade -- Salman Khan and Peter Mukherjea's lawyer -- would take a morning flight from Jodhpur to Mumbai and would be in court by 3 pm on Friday to cross-examine Sub-Inspector Dalvi. For a moment, Judge Jagdale looks startled. "But isn't he caught up with that case in Jodhpur?" the judge asked.
Here are the developments in the murder case which has taken explosive twists and turns since Indrani's arrest on Thursday night.
'Not only will Peter, Indrani, Sanjeev be making twice monthly trips to the sessions court for many years, so will their family, their lawyers and the journalists covering the case, becoming almost like bittersweet friends, as large portions of their lives play out there.'
'Most of the 40 inmates are asymptomatic. They were shifted to the isolation centre of the prison at Patankar School in Byculla in Central Mumbai as a precautionary measure'
Sheena Bora's brother Mikhail, who arrived in Mumbai from Guwahati, on Friday said he will cooperate with police in the probe of his sister's murder as more details of the murky case and cover-up bid are expected to emerge later in the day.
The Sheena Bora murder mystery has seen more twists than a television sitcom. As skeletons continue to tumble out, here are the latest developments in the case.
The Sheena Bora murder mystery has seen more twists than a television sitcom. As skeletons continue to tumble out, here are the latest developments in the case.
Fear of Sheena Bora inheriting the entire property of her and her husband in the event of the victim's marriage to Peter Mukerjea's son Rahul is said to be the prime motive for Indrani Mukerjea to do away with her daughter, according to the Central Bureau of Investigation chargesheet in the sensational case.
Indrani Mukerjea, key accused in the sensational Sheena Bora murder case, has "confessed" to her role in the crime, while her husband, ex-Star India CEO Peter Mukerjea, underwent another round of marathon grilling today even as police tries to crack the intriguing case.
Caught in a web of half truths, the Sheena Bora murder case continues to baffle investigators. Here are the top developments of the day.
Indrani's words were quick, her hand gestures quicker. She kept pointing to certain paragraphs in their consent terms.
According to hospital sources, Indrani's counsel Gunjan Mangla met JJ Hospital Dean Dr TP Lahane, who apprised her about the condition of 43-year-old Indrani.
Indrani Mukerjea faced fresh charges of poisoning and attempting to murder her son Mikhail as police suspect involvement of people outside the state in the sensational crime.
'She seems to have disappeared off the face of the planet after telling different people different things.'
Badami asked Das if Indrani was in the room. Das, whipping out his hand and pointing it at Indrani, announced: "Yes, she is right there." Indrani, who was looking down, through most of the hearing, momentarily raised her eyes, just a fraction and glanced at him. That was the first time either of them looked at each other. Till then, and later, Das refused to look at her, as if he was not able to, either out of anger or revulsion. It seemed mutual. Indrani too pretended throughout like he did not exist.
'If I have to write a letter I will give it to the media. They will put it out.'
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday told a special court in Mumbai that Indrani Mukerjea, prime accused in the sensational Sheena Bora murder case, and her husband former media baron Peter Mukerjea were unhappy with the relationship between her daughter Sheena and Peter's son Rahul.
If Indrani Mukerjea wanted to whitewash her image, this docu series was not the right platform, asserts Deepa Gahlot.
A special CBI court in Mumbai on Thursday said Indrani Mukerjea, prime accused in the murder of her daughter Sheena Bora, can walk out on bail after furnishing a bond of Rs 2 lakh as it finalised her bail conditions.
In another twist in the Sheena Bora murder case, bone samples of her charred body collected in 2012 were found by forensic experts to be not matching those obtained from the remains which were exhumed recently.