INX Media case: CBI raids house of Peter Mukerjea in Mumbai

Mumbai, May 16

The CBI on Tuesday carried out searches at the house of former media baron Peter Mukerjea here as part of investigations into a case linked to Karti Chidambaram, son of former union minister P Chidambaram, over alleged favours granted in foreign investment clearance to a firm, INX Media, in 2007.

The search was among the raids carried out at multiple locations across the country, including at the homes of the former finance minister and his son, CBI sources said.

A team of CBI sleuths are conducting searches at Peter's bungalow in the posh Worli area in south Mumbai, agency sources said.

Both Peter and his wife Indrani Mukerjea, founders of INX Media, are accused in the sensational Sheena Bora murder case and are lodged in jail here.

The CBI has been conducting searches at 17 locations across the country, including New Delhi, Gurgaon, Chennai and Chidambaram's hometown of Karaikudi, as part of a probe into the alleged criminal misconduct in approval of foreign investments in India.

The agency had yesterday registered a case regarding alleged irregularities in granting the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance to INX Media in 2007 when Chidambaram was the finance minister.

The agency has registered the case against INX Media through its director Peter, Indrani, Karti Chidambaram, Chess Management Services (a company of Karti), Advantage Strategic Consulting Limited through its director Padma Vishwanathan.

Indrani was arrested in August 2015 after chilling details of the murder of her daughter Sheena Bora came to light that year. Peter was arrested and made an accused later in November 2015.

According to CBI, which investigated the murder case and filed the chargesheet, that both Peter and Indrani had siphoned off money from INX Media. PTI