They Didn’t Want Me to Speak About INX Media Corruption: Indrani on Case Involving Chidambaram

Indrani, the main accused in the murder of her daughter, Sheena Bora, in the ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash, said that she was “under a lot of pressure to not come out with the truth” in the INX Media corruption case, involving Congress leader P Chidambaram and his son Karti.

Indrani has claimed to have allegedly paid a bribe of $5 million (around Rs 35.5 crore) to then Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Karti through offshore payments in Singapore, Mauritius, Bermuda, the UK and Switzerland, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said in the charge sheet filed in a special court in 2019.

“The political mess has not ended… I was having these conversations with Peter Mukerjea [her ex-husband] for a long time, saying that we needed to come out with it. It will come to bite us. He said, “Let the sleeping dogs lie”.”

“Four-five months later, I was arrested in Sheena case. The case was with the Mumbai Police, headed by Rakesh Maria. I am convinced somebody didn’t want me to speak. I was put in jail because of that. Without evidence, I can’t say this. At that point, I didn’t think it was connected…There was digging around going on. Only two people could speak about my meeting in the INX case – Peter and I,” she said.

“I was under a lot of pressure to not come out with the truth in the INX case. There are documents and signatures. There is a much bigger game to it and I was just a pawn. It is just my opinion. I think Peter also got caught in the whole thing for trying to be too smart…I would like to ask Peter a lot of questions. He doesn’t have the answers.”

Indrani was granted bail in the Sheena Bora case in May 2022, after spending six years in jail. In August 2015, Mumbai Police had arrested Indrani, her then husband and former media executive Peter Mukerjea, Indrani’s ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna, and driver Shyamvar Rai for allegedly abducting and killing Sheena and subsequently burning her corpse. The case came to light, three years after the crime was committed following the arrest of Rai in another case which led to the arrest of Indrani and Khanna. Indrani’s memoir, ‘Unbroken: the Untold Story’, released in July this year.

THE INX MEDIA CASE

The CBI registered an FIR on May 15, 2017, alleging irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance granted to the media group for receiving overseas funds of Rs 305 crore in 2007 during Chidambaram’s tenure as the finance minister. The ED later lodged a money laundering case in 2018.

The statements of Indrani and Peter Mukerjea, promoters of INX Media and co-accused in the money laundering case, are said to have been crucial in implicating P Chidambaram.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had submitted to the court Indrani’s statement, according to which the two promoters and a senior company executive had approached Chidambaram for foreign direct investment approval after the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) rejected their request for a stake sale to the tune of 26 per cent. The former finance minister allegedly cleared it for a sale of Rs 4.62 crore only. According to Indrani’s statement, the request was approved on the condition that Peter help Karti in his business and make possible overseas remittances in lieu for the FIPB approval.