Indrani Mukerjea of Mumbai, the main defendant in Sheena Bora’s murder, filed a petition with the Bombay High Court (HC) for an FIR to be registered against her in the 2017 Byculla prison fight, which ended with the death of a 31-year-old. the inmate Manjula Shetty .
The petition claims that the FIR against her was malicious and designed to prevent her from serving as a witness in the Shetye case, which involved multiple corrections officers and was named as a defendant. Mukerjea also registered an FIR against prison officials after the CBI Special Court ordered authorities to take her to Nagpada Police Station to allow her to be searched.
According to a petition filed through defender Sana Raees Khan, the FIR, registered on June 24, 2017, at the request of the then director of Byculla Women’s Prison, was baseless and wrongly implicated her in the crime. The petition further stated that Mukherjea was not a party to the alleged attack on prison officials nor was she involved in creating a disturbance in the prison. The petition said that the charges of assault and damage to a door were made against a co-defendant and only false, general and vague charges were made against her.
The petition also stated that although the charge sheet was filed in the case in 2021, she had not received a copy of the FIR and that the statements on the charge sheet were only witnesses of interest in the case. Mukerjea further stated in her petition that she had been granted bail by the Magistrates Court and therefore she requested that her FIR be dismissed in light of the above.
On June 24, 2017, female inmates at Byculla Women’s Prison began protesting Shetye’s brutal murder at the hands of prison authorities. Prisoners claim that the prison authorities not only severely beat Shetye, but also failed to provide her with medical assistance, that ultimately resulted into her death.
Under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Mukherjee was charged and booked by the Nagpada Police Station with rioting, assaulting prison officials, inciting other prisoners to riot, and destroying government property. According to Khan, the petition will be mentioned to ensure that HC resumes the normal post-hearing date of June 5.
