Former media magnate Peter Mukerjea fended off his son Rahul’s queries on Sheena Bora’s absence soon after she disappeared in April 2012.
Mr. Mukerjea directed Rahul to his wife Indrani and told him he was wasting his time worrying about Sheena, according to emails which are part of the >charge sheet filed by the CBI . On Monday, Mr. Mukerjea was produced in the magistrate’s court, which extended his custody with the investigating agency by three days. The CBI told the court that during his custodial interrogation, Mr. Mukerjea did not give any reason for lying to his son Rahul about Sheena. On Monday night, Mr. Mukerjea was taken to Delhi for further interrogation.
Peter evaded son’s queries, show emails
According to emails filed by the CBI along with the charge sheet against Peter Mukerjea in the Sheena Bora murder case, the media magnate evaded questions from his son Rahul about the disappearance of Sheena.
Over a month after the murder, Mr. Mukerjea wrote to his son in an email dated May 27, 2012, “I maintain my earlier position that Sheena is fine and if anyone asks you about her, ask them to call Indrani if they are really concerned…I think you are wasting your time and breath in worrying about her in the last month. If she wanted to get in touch with you she would have, but you have to assume she doesn’t…So, if anyone needs to find out about her and calls you, then ask them to speak to Indrani or email Indrani. Maybe she will be able to satisfy them that she is fine and they needn’t worry.”
In another email the same night Peter wrote, “She’s [Sheena] obviously fine and you are sweating it out like a teenager in love. I think you really need to leave it be and forget her and figure out the next phase of your life…It’s been a month and I cannot believe you are still not out of the anguish.”
>The Sheena Bora murder: cast and plot of a real-life soap opera
Rahul suspicious
Rahul, however, was not to be placated by his father’s explanations. “Why can’t she speak for herself? ... Indrani is her mother, not her sister. Why don’t you do your own homework instead of just believing the crap that you are fed,” he wrote back to his father.
In a lengthy email the next day, May 28, 2012, addressed to Peter and Indrani, Rahul wrote, “I have sought legal advice in this situation and I have been advised that the circumstances surrounding her ‘disappearance’ are characteristic of something untoward, i.e. supposed to go out for the evening on April 24, followed by contradictory text messages sent on April 25 morning, the fact that she took no personal belongings from home, and the fact that nobody who she is usually in touch with (close friends, father, nor colleagues), seems to have heard from her since…
“The way that it appears after taking everything into account, is that for some reason, the truth is being withheld. Obviously this then creates further suspicion with regard to the circumstances surrounding Sheena’s ‘disappearance’.”
A Timeline of events:
November 19, 2015: CBI arrests Peter Mukherjea along with filing charge sheets against Indrani, ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna and Shyamvar Rai the driver.
October 7, 2015: Indrani discharged from hospital,doctors confirmed drug overdose.
October 2, 2015: Indrani Mukherjea admitted in JJ Hospital after she allegedly overdosed on anti-epileptic pills.
September 19, 2015: Maharashtra announces the handover of the case to CBI.
September 9, 2015: Peter Mukherjea reveals to Khar police that Indrani often abused him.
September 7, 2015: Body of Sheena Bora found in Raigad forest.
September 5, 2015: The police custody extended again till September 7.
September 3, 2015: Indrani Mukherjea confessed her role in the murder.
September 1, 2015: Siddharth Das confessed that he is the biological father of Sheena and Mikhail Bora.
August 31, 2015: Fresh charges filed against Indrani attempting to kill her son. Police custody of the three accussed extended till September 5, 2015.
August 30, 2015: The three arrested were taken to the crime scene in Raigad. The call records were also checked by the police.
August 29, 2015: Maharashtra Police has ordered a probe into why the Raigad Police did not register an Accidental Death Report (ADR) after they found a burnt corpse, suspected to be of Sheena Bora, in 2012.
August 28, 2015: Sanjeev Khanna confessed to his "complicity in the crime." He had earlier said that, Sheena’s body was lying next to him in a car in which they were travelling together in Mumbai on April 24, 2012.
August 27, 2015: Sheena Shyam Rai, Indrani's driver, confessed that he murdered Sheena and disposed of her body, on the direction of his employer Indrani Mukherjea.
August 27, 2015: Sanjeev Khanna, a Kolkata based businessman and ex-husband of Indrani Mukherjea was arrested from Kolkata.
August 26, 2015: Indrani opened up that Sheena was her daughter from a previous marriage and not sister as maintained.
August 21, 2015: Shyamvar Pinturam Rai is arrested following the seizure of a 7.63-bore pistol from him.
May 23, 2012: Police find a decomposed body after villagers at Gagode in Pen tehsil, Maharashtra, complain of foul odour.
April 24, 2012: Sheena Bora takes a leave of absence from work at Mumbai Metro. On the same day she sends a resignation letter to her employer. She is not heard from again. No missing complaint is ever lodged by any family member.
A look at the case and those involved:
Sheena Bora Indrani Mukherjea (43): Founder of the INX media network
Peter Mukherjea (59): Former CEO of Star TV and husband of Indrani Mukherjea since 2002
Sheena Bora (24 at the time of death): Indrani’s daughter who was introduced to Peter as her sister.
Mikhail Bora: Indrani’s son
Siddhartha Das: Father of Sheena and Mikhail
Rahul Mukherjea: Son of Peter from a previous marriage
Sanjeev Khanna: Businessman and former husband of Indrani
Shyamvar Pinturam Rai: Indrani’s driver
Indrani Mukherjea The crime
April 24, 2012: Sheena Bora takes a leave of absence from work at Mumbai Metro. On the same day she sends a resignation letter to her employer. She is not heard from again. No missing complaint is ever lodged by any family member.
May 23, 2012: Police find a decomposed body after villagers at Gagode in Pen tehsil, Maharashtra, complain of foul odour.
August 21, 2015: Shyamvar Pinturam Rai is arrested following the seizure of a 7.63-bore pistol from him.
August 26, 2015: Indrani opened up that Sheena was her daughter from a previous marriage and not sister as maintained.
August 27, 2015: Sanjeev Khanna, a Kolkata based businessman and ex-husband of Indrani Mukherjea was arrested from Kolkata.
Aug 27, 2015: Sheena Shyam Rai, Indrani's driver, confessed that he murdered Sheena and disposed of her body, on the direction of his employer Indrani Mukherjea.
Aug 28, 2015: Sanjeev Khanna confessed to his "complicity in the crime." He had earlier said that, Sheena’s body was lying next to him in a car in which they were travelling together in Mumbai on April 24, 2012.
Aug 29, 2015: Maharashtra Police has ordered a probe into why the Raigad Police did not register an Accidental Death Report (ADR) after they found a burnt corpse, suspected to be of Sheena Bora, in 2012.
Peter Mukherjea and his wife Indrani Mukherjea The confessions:
Shyamvar: Discloses that he, Indrani and Khanna, strangulated Sheena inside a car on April 24, 2012. The car with the body inside is parked in Peter’s garage till the next day when the body is burnt and dumped.
Mikhail Bora: Says he knows the “exact reason” for which his sister was murdered and reveals that Sheena was Indrani’s daughter and not sister as had been made public.
Indrani: Accepts that Sheena was her daughter.
Peter: Says he never knew Sheena was Indrani’s daughter but knew that she was in a relationship with Rahul, and that his wife disapproved of the relationship.
