 "Sheena Bora, Indrani Mukerjea")
The Sheena Bora murder case took yet another twist Thursday evening when the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Peter Mukerjea, Indrani Mukerjea’s husband and Sheena’s step-father. Peter has been charged under sections dealing with lying to protect the main conspirator and destroying evidence, reports NDTV.
News agency ANI tweeted that Peter Mukerjea has been booked under sections 302, 120 B, 306, 201, and 364 of the IPC in original FIR. Proceedings are yet to begin, added ANI.
News agency ANI tweeted that Peter Mukerjea has been booked under sections 302, 120 B, 306, 201, and 364 of the IPC in original FIR. Proceedings are yet to begin, added ANI.
Peter Mukerjea booked under sections in original FIR 302, 120 B, 306, 201, and 364 of the IPC. Proceedings yet to begin.
— ANI (@ANI_news) November 20, 2015
Up until now, Peter had claimed ignorance about Indrani’s alleged involvement in Sheena’s disappearance, and even the fact that Sheena was Indrani’s daughter, claiming that he had been told the two were sisters.
The whodunit has had the country riveted, given the high profiles of the cast of characters in the case. Peter Mukerjea was the CEO of STAR India till 2007, credited with establishing the Rupert Murdoch channel in the country. He later founded INX Media with Indrani Mukerjea, who he met in Kolkata and married after a whirlwind romance. Two years later, the couple sold their stake in the company. Five years ago, Peter and Indrani were reported to have relocated to the United Kingdom with Vidhie, Indrani’s daughter from her second marriage.
Here are the 10 most important developments in the case so far.
1) IBNLive reported on November 19 that forensic examination has confirmed that remains found in forested area of Raigad belong to Sheena Bora. According to the report, three tests were conducted by AIIMS forensic department to prove that the charred remains were of Sheena.
2) On August 21, acting on a tip-off from an unknown caller, Mumbai Police picked up Indrani's former driver Shyam Rai on charges of possession of illegal arms. Mumbai Police claimed, after interrogation, that Rai confessed to his involvement in Sheena’s murder in 2012. He allegedly revealed that Indrani and her ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna had murdered Sheena and that he had helped them dispose of the body in the forests of Raigad, 110 km outside of Mumbai.
3) Indrani was picked up by the Mumbai police on August 25 and questioned about her role in the murder. Khanna was taken into custody from Kolkata on August 26. Skeletal remains, purportedly of Sheena, were subsequently recovered by police from Pen, in Raigad district.
4) A day after the arrest, Mikhail Bora, who claimed to be Indrani’s son, revealed that Sheena was in fact Indirani’s daughter and not her sister as she had claimed all along. News agency PTI quoted Peter Mukerjea as saying: “I don't understand at all with regard to my wife... Sheena Bora is her sister, I believed all these years, and now I am being told that she was her daughter. Whom I thought was her brother, is now her son from an earlier marriage, which I was not aware of. I was aware of one marriage and not so many others. So, now there are number of things that are appearing to me which are completely new to me."
5) Peter and Indrani were brought face to face by the police on September 2. According to PTI, the police may have questioned the three accused – Indrani, Khanna and Rai – in the presence of Peter and their counsel in perhaps the first such confrontation since Indrani’s arrest.
6) On September 3, Mumbai police claimed that Indrani had confessed to her role in Sheena’s murder. While that claim was later contested by Indrani's lawyers, new theories on the motive behind the killing have surfaced from various quarters.
7) Mikhail Bora has claimed in several interviews that Sheena was silenced as she threatened to reveal to Peter that she was Indrani’s daughter, and not her sister as Indrani had claimed. He also claimed that Indrani had planned to murder him as well in Mumbai but that he managed to escape.
8) As if all this wasn't confusing enough, Peter Mukerjea's son from his first marriage, Rahul, was also reported to be in a relationship with Sheena. Media reports claimed that Indrani, fearing loss of influence in the Mukherjea household, asked Sheena to end the relationship. Sheena refused to leave Rahul and is also said to have refused to part with the proceeds of the sale of INX media that were allegedly parked in her name. This is said to have further enraged Indrani who allegedly planned the murder to get control of the money. Rahul has revealed to the police that he had sought to file a missing person’s complaint with the police after Sheena suddenly disappeared but that Indrani insisted that Sheena had moved to the US and does not wish to keep in touch with him. He also claimed that the police believed Indrani’s version and refused to file a complaint or FIR.
9) The case has also taken a toll on the Mumbai police. The then Commissioner of police Rakesh Maria, who was criticised by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for his undue interest in the case, was abruptly promoted and transferred by the Maharashtra government. He was replaced by Javed Ahmed, and the case was subsequently transferred to the CBI.
10) On November 9, the CBI filed a chargesheet against the accused in the case. The arrest of Peter Mukerjea is significant as it finally seeks to connect the dots on the financial motives behind Sheena's sudden disappearance in 2012.
