In a major twist in the Sheena Bora murder case, one of the four prime accused, driver Shyamwar Rai, wants to turn a witness and sought the court's pardon here on Wednesday.
Rai -- the former trusted driver of another prime accused Indrani Mukerjea -- has written a letter to the court from jail, expressing his willingness to become a witness and also seek pardon from the court in the case, an official said.
"He has written that he wants to shed light on certain important aspects of the case and is prepared to turn an approver, and also sought the court's pardon," a legal official, declining to be quoted, told IANS.
Rai, who was arrested by Mumbai Police, along with Indrani and her ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna in August last year, has been in continuous custody since the past over eight months.
If Rai's plea is accepted by the court, it could significantly help the prosecution case against the remaining prime accused, including former media baron Peter Mukerjea, who was arrested in November last year by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Rai has already confessed that he had witnessed the crime, and was present at the time of strangling Sheena Bora, Indrani's daughter from a previous relationship, and subsequent developments culminating in dumping the half-burnt body in the dense forests of Raigad district, around 90 km south of Mumbai in April 2012.
Earlier reported to have disappeared mysteriously, it later came to light that Sheena, 24, was killed on April 24, 2012.
Her body was found on May 23 that year by the local police, but the crime went unnoticed till August 2015 when the sensational murder case unfolded and forensic tests confirmed the remains belonged to her.
--IANS
qn/rn/bg
