Senior IPS officer Rakesh Maria, who retired today after serving for 36 years in various capacities and had initially led the probe into the sensational Sheena Bora murder case as Mumbai Police Commissioner, said the CBI has done an outstanding job in the case.
“CBI has done an outstanding investigation in Sheena Bora murder case,” he said on his last day in office.
Influential and wealthy people suppressed the case for three years, he said, adding that he was referring to the arrested accused in the case.
“In fact, I wrote a letter to the state government on August 28, 2015 that the accused arrested in this case are ‘rich and influential’ and they are likely to hire the best and top class lawyers to fight the case, hence we (the prosecution) should also get good quality lawyers right from the remand stage. We had even recommended a senior counsel to build our case and get conviction,” he said.
Known for his investigative skills, Maria rose to fame with the cracking of 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case. He also probed the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
Maria was promoted in 2015 as DG (Home Guards) in the midist of the investigation in the Sheena Bora murder case, in which the victim’s mother Indrani Mukerjea and former media baron Peter Mukerjea are among those arrested.
Asked about the circumstances leading to his transfer while the probe in the case was still progressing, he said, “Transfers and postings are the government’s prerogative. In police service, this is part of our job. So I do not have any ill-feeling at all.”
“A month before my transfer, I had approached the government to post me to Home Guard or State Security Corporation. I have no regrets. I am satisfied with my career and I enjoyed the confidence of the government,” Maria said.
Asked if he has regrets of not being able to crack any case, he spoke about the Pinge murder case in Dadar, Shivaji Park.
“I still feel something more could have been done but it remained undetected. Otherwise, we cracked all the cases which we touched,” he signed off.
