Sheena Bora murder case: Was not aware punishment for murder bigger than that for possession of illegal arms, Rai tells court
Sheena Bora (file photo) Sheena Bora (file photo)
Accused-turned-approver in the Sheena Bora murder case, Shyamvar Rai, Monday claimed during cross-examination that he did not know that punishment for murder is more than the punishment for carrying illegal arms. Rai was booked for carrying an illegal weapon by Khar police on August 21, 2015, and it was during his interrogation that he allegedly revealed about his involvement in the murder of Sheena on April 24, 2012, along with Indrani Mukerjea and Sanjeev Khanna.
“I was not aware that punishment for murder is more than punishment for carrying illegal arms. I was aware if there is a murder, then the murderer would be punished,” Rai said during his cross-examination. While he would have faced a maximum punishment of seven years for carrying an illegal firearm under the Arms Act, the punishment for murder was life imprisonment or even death penalty.
However, if he meets the condition of full disclosure as a prosecution witness, he will be granted pardon.
After over four months of cross-examination running into over 100 pages by the defence advocates of Indrani, Rai is currently being cross-examined by defence advocates Niranjan Mundargi and Shreyansh Mithare representing Khanna. On Monday, Rai, who was working as a driver in the city since 1997, faced questions ranging from the traffic in the city during peak hours, to location of nullahs, gutters, mangroves and police chowkies in and around his house and on the route he had taken on the day of his arrest.
Rai had said in his deposition in the past few months that he had walked from his home in Vakola to Carter Road to find a spot to dispose of a firearm and cartridges given to him by Indrani in 2012. Mundargi asked Rai about a number of nullahs much closer to his house or on the route to Bandra where he had gone to dispose of the firearm. Rai said he was aware about nullahs and gutters pointed out to him on his route.
Rai was also asked about ‘peak hour’ traffic by Mundergi. Rai said he did not know the term but accepted there was traffic from south Mumbai towards the suburbs in the evening and vice-versa in the morning. On being asked how much time it would take for a person to travel from Worli to Bandra via SV Road on a weekday evening, Rai said it would take 10-15 minutes. According to the evidence by the CBI, Khanna had checked into a hotel in Worli on April 24, 2012, at 6.05pm but was present around 6.30pm outside the National College. Sheena was allegedly murdered in a car in a lane near the National College soon after.
Rai was also confronted with phone calls he made to Sheena’s younger brother Mikhail between January and May 2012. Rai was asked if he remembered the subject of their talks since there were 203 calls between Mikhail and him. Rai told the court that he did not recollect what they had talked about.
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