India, Sept. 19 -- A childhood friend of murder victim Sheena Bora on Thursday told a special CBI court that Sheena had once expressed a desire to "take sanyas" (abandoning worldly pursuits) to escape the constant turmoil in her life and described her strained relationship with her mother and prime accused Indrani Mukerjea.

Deposing as a prosecution witness, Sanjana Phukan Raktim - who studied with Sheena from nursery till Class X in Guwahati - produced email exchanges that, she said, revealed Sheena's family troubles, health issues, and alleged harassment by Indrani. Raktim is among 69 fresh witnesses added by the CBI this year and has been described by the agency as "important" because her correspondence with Sheena details the difficu...