Was instructed to forge Sheena's signature on resignation letter, says Indrani’s secretary

Mumbai: Kajal Sharma, personal secretary of Indrani Mukerjea told CBI that she had refused to forge Sheena Bora's signature in a resignation letter to Reliance's Mumbai Metro but was forced to do so by her 43-year-old boss, who is the prime accused in the sensational murder case.

Kajal was employed with Indrani's INX company from 2002 to 2007 and then worked as her personal secretary from 2011. Kajal, in her statement, said in May 2012 Indrani had called her from London saying she has sent her an e-mail in the form of a resignation letter to Reliance on behalf of Sheena Bora.

"Indrani instructed me to start practising Sheena's signatures so that I can sign the resignation letter on behalf of Sheena and forward the same to Reliance Metro (where she was employed as an assistant manager at the time of her disappearance). Initially I did not agree and asked her as to why I have to forge Sheena's signature.

"To this Indrani said as Sheena is in US and she has no internet facility she cannot do the same and her office is pressurising her to send the resignation letter immediately," Kajal said in her statement.

"Since I had no option but to obey my boss's orders I practiced Sheena's signature in the resignation letter and couriered it to Mumbai Metro office. In August 2012, I created an email ID in the name of Sheena Bora and sent cancellation of rent agreement as instructed by Indrani," the statement said.

Kajal also told CBI that Indrani's driver Shyamvar Rai, who has also been arrested in the case, was very close to Indrani as he was working for her since very long.

"All confidential works were assigned to him (Rai) by Indrani Mukerjea, including personal works," she said. "Although I used to book vehicles from travel agencies for Indrani, Shyamvar used to go to the concerned travel agency and bring the car. He himself used to drive the hired vehicle," Kajal said.

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Kajal in her statement said after April 25, 2012, Indrani asked driver Shyamvar to quit his job as INX was not doing very well.

"Indrani advised Shyamvar to join the company of an acquaintance Samir Budha but Rai straight away refused to accept the proposal," she said.

"Sometime in March 2012, Indrani, who was then in London, asked me to open a Skype account in the name of Shyamvar and teach him how to operate it. Since then whenever Indrani used to call Rai on the office laptop through Skype or when Rai expressed willingness to talk to Indrani, I and another employee Pradeep Waghmare used to leave the office so that they can talk privately as instructed by Indrani," Kajal said.

She added that in April 2012 on Indrani's instructions Rs 1.25 lakh was given to Shyamvar.

Kajal in her statement said she had never met Sheena and Mikhail Bora and that she was told by Indrani that they were her siblings. "Only after Indrani's arrest, I came to know that they were her children," she said.