Sheena Bora case, latest: Dead girl's remains exhumed from Raigad forest
Mumbai: The Sheena Bora murder case is unravelling at a scandal-a-minute pace. Sheena, the daughter of media bigwig Indrani Mukerjea, was killed on April 24, 2012 and her body dumped in the forests of Raigad.
Indrani is in custody on charges of murdering her daughter, along with trusted driver Shyamvar Rai and second husband Sanjeev Khanna -- her accomplices. The three picked up Sheena that fateful day three years ago, strangled her in the car and dumped her body in a bag in the Raigad forests the next day. They also partially burnt the bag and the adjoining area. The Pen police had found her body a month later but disposed it without keeping records or even registering a murder case. Though they sent a sample of her DNA to Mumbai, they "forgot" to collect the result. This is why it took the Mumbai police, which had to largely rely on confessions, so long to join the dots. Whether the Pen police's lackadaisical attitude will hamper investigations and possible outcome of the case, only time will tell.
The police, who kept a strict watch on Indrani for the last three months, arrested her and Rai this Tuesday. Sanjeev Khanna was picked up from Kolkata during lunch on Wednesday. It has now also emerged that the trio went for a recce of the forests to check where they could dump the body and how quickly they could do it.
Here is the latest from this gruesome tale:
1. In a late night press conference on Friday, Mumbai Police chief Rakesh Maria claimed that Sanjeev Khanna has confessed to his complicity in the crime. "We interrogated the third accused (Khanna) and he has confessed to complicity in the crime. We have also recovered her (Sheena's) passport from Dehra Dun, which negates the theory that Sheena Bora went to the US,” Maria said.
2. Sanjeev Khanna, the second husband of Indrani Mukherjea, the prime accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, on Friday was sent to police custody till August 31. Police, who is seeking Khanna's custody for maximum available period, want to take him to the spot where incident took place. Police have also recovered two visas of Norway and Ireland from Khanna.
3. Mumbai Police on Friday recovered few bones after digging the spot in Raigad where Sheena’s body was dumped. The bones will be sent to FSL for testing. In another development, Mumbai police sent samples of Sheena’s tooth and hair which was lying at JJ Hospital to Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for DNA tests.
4. Mikhail Bora, Sheena's brother, will also join the investigation as a witness in Mumbai.
Indrani's ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna remanded in Mumbai police custody
Did Sanjeev Khanna, Indrani Mukerjea ever part ways?
Sheena told me she was Indrani’s daughter: Peter Mukerjea
I knew Sheena as my aunt, shared a good relation: Second daughter of Indrani Mukerjea
Friends who looked for Sheena snubbed, threatened: report
Sheena Bora murder: Indrani's ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna in police custody
Sheena Bora murder: Probe gathers speed as police questions Sanjeev Khanna
Sheena’s ‘skeletal remains’ found, Sanjeev Khanna ‘confesses’ his crime: Mumbai Police
Sheena Bora case: Cops reconstruct murder with Indrani, her ex-husband and driver
Sheena Bora murder case: Indrani’s advocate can meet her, witness probe
5. City police chief Rakesh Maria on Thursday evening clarified that Sheena was Indrani's daughter and the police had a fair idea about the motive of the murder. Further investigations, he said revealed that Indrani had signed Sheena's resignation on her behalf. He also informed that Sheena was strangulated in the car, then her body was taken to Raigad and was burnt to prevent identification.
6. Upendra Kumar Bora, father of Indrani Mukherjea, has disputed his daughter's claim that murdered Sheena Bora was his daughter. "She is not my daughter. I am her grandfather," said 80-year-old Bora, whose name was said to have been given by Indrani as father in the birth certificate of Sheena, who was born on February 1989. He named Sheena's father as one Siddharth Das.
Also read:
Missing link to the Sheena Bora murder case surfaces - her DNA report
Sheena Bora murder case: The main characters and possible motives
Sheena Bora was strangulated, her body burnt with petrol: Mumbai police chief
We were dependent on Indrani Mukerjea, says son Mikhail
Was Indrani Mukerjea a teenage mother?
7. Indrani's son Mikhail Bora was released after brief detention by Mumbai police at Dispur police station in Assam on Thrusday. A Mumbai police official met accused Mikhail in Guwahati, who claimed to have evidence relating to the sensational Sheena Bora murder. The police officer, who arrived at Mikhail’s house this afternoon, told waiting journalists, "It is a sensitive case. Investigation is on". To persistent questions, he said, "First let me investigate. Let me do my work. After discussions inside, I'll inform you all". Coming out of the house after about an hour, the police official, however, declined to take questions from reporters. Mikhail's grandparents house is located in Sundarpur bylane one in Ganeshguri area of the city.
8. Co-accused Sanjeev Khanna, who was arressted on Wednesday, was taken Thursday to court from Kolkata's Alipore police station for questioning. The Mumbai Police had asked for a 7-day transit remand. Sanjeev Khanna's lawyer said Indrani was the main accused and that Sanjeev had no motive in killing Sheena. He said Sanjeev was in Mumbai on April 24, 2012 -- the day of the murder -- but he had gone to meet his daughter with Indrani, Vidhi. Vidhi stays with Indrani and her present husband Peter Mukerjea. Indrani did not allow him to meet Vidhi, the lawyer alleged.
9. In a shocking revelation, Indrani Mukerjea’s son and Sheena's brother Mikhael Bora has told the media that this was the first time he had heard of Sanjeev Khanna’s name. “This is the first time I have heard his name, and that too through the media,” said Mikhail Bora. "There is a property issue. Maybe I am the next target so that Indrani can get this house. By killing me and my grandparents they will get the property." Mikhail further added that he felt threatened. "Whatever the Mumbai Police wants to ask me, they should ask me at my residence only," Bora said, adding, "I can't leave my grandparents alone here, I cannot risk their lives. If I go there, the police and the government have to provide full time nurse for them here," he added.
Received break-up SMS from Sheena Bora's phone, Rahul Mukerjea tells cops
10. Earlier, former Star India CEO Peter Mukerjea’s son Rahul, the step-brother and boyfriend of Sheena Bora, was questioned by the police in Mumbai on Wednesday. Rahul has told police that he had received a text from Sheena Bora's phone the night she disappeared, which said she wanted to break-up. He has also revealed that Indrani had asked him to "stop chasing Sheena" when he enquired about her disappearance. Rahul was questioned for the second time on Thursday morning and has been taken to an undisclosed location. The relationship between Sheena and Rahul is being suspected by the police as the motive for the murder.
11. Sheena Bora's friends from St Xaviers College told a newspaper that their classmate had told them she was not the sister but the daughter of Indrani Mukerjea. Sheena, her friends, said was inebriated at that time. Indrani, who took in Sheena in the early 2000s so that she could study in Mumbai, had passed Sheena and Mikhail off as her siblings.
12. A film-maker on condition of anonymity has said that Sheena wanted to pursue acting.
Also read:
Sheena Bora murder case: Mumbai court allows lawyer to meet Indrani Mukherjea
Sheena Bora murder case: Mikhail in Mumbai, says will cooperate with probe
Sheena murder case: My husband is being framed, says driver's wife Sharda
More murky details in Sheena Bora murder case; new DNA samples sent to lab
Indrani killed daughter Sheena Bora, motive unclear, says police
13. The cops have also said that driver Shyam Rai was given Rs 1 lakh to help bump off Sheena. He told police about the threats to his life in case he spilled the beans.
14. Indrani Mukerjea, a known foodie, is served tea at 9 am in the morning, followed by lunch at 1 pm of rice, dal and four chapatis, and the same for dinner. The police said she didn't ask for special food nor would that request be entertained, the cops said.
15. In the mother of all conspiracy theories, mid-day reported that the pistol they recovered from Indrani’s driver Shyam could have been purchased to bump off Peter Mukerjea and son Mikhail. The report said driver Shyam spilled this to the cops, but they are waiting to verify it. Sources told mid-day that Khanna and Indrani wanted to kill Peter and Mikhail for the property.
Also read:
Pen police kept no record of Sheena's death: report
Indrani's son Mikhail fears he is the 'next target'
Indrani’s father disputes her claim, says Sheena was not my daughter
