Indrani Mukerjea’s ex-hubby held in Sheena murder case
A murder case involving 9X Media founder Indrani Mukerjea took a bizarre twist on Wednesday when it emerged that the victim was her daughter though she was widely known to be her sister.
A day after Mumbai police took Indrani, wife of former Star India CEO Peter Mukerjea, into custody, officials also arrested Kolkata-based businessman Sanjeev Khanna, the accused’s ex-husband.
Police sources close to the investigation said when Indrani was questioned she initially maintained that Sheena was her sister and was in the United States, but broke down when confronted with evidence and admitted that the victim was her daughter from a previous relationship with Meghalaya resident Siddhartha Das.
Sheena’s remains were found by police in the forests of Maharashtra’s Raigad district, about 112km from Mumbai, after which a case of murder was registered against unknown persons three years ago.
“On April 24, 2012, Sheena was abducted near National College in Bandra in Indrani’s car, and was later strangulated in the car. Her body was then burnt using petrol and dumped in a thickly forested area near Pen village in Raigad district,” said Mumbai police commissioner Rakesh Maria, while confirming that Sheena was Indrani’s daughter.
Mumbai police last week picked up Indrani’s driver, 43-yearold Shyam Manav Manohar Rai, following a tip-off from an informer and he confessed to the murder during interrogation. Indrani was questioned on Tuesday and later arrested. According to officials, Sanjeev Khanna was with Indrani and the driver at the time of the murder.
Sources said Rai led police to the spot where the victim’s body was dumped three years ago and some bone fragments were found there. Samples were sent for forensic tests.
Speaking to media channels, Peter Mukerjea sought to distance himself from the incident and said he was shocked by the turn of events.
“I was always told by Indrani that she (Sheena) was her sister. And Sheena always maintained that. My son at one time was in a relationship with Sheena. He told me Sheena is not her sister, she is Indrani’s daughter. I told him that look, it is not true. Indrani has told me that she is her sister. I believed my wife, so much so that it created a rift between me and my son,” he said.
“Whatever help, information police need, I am happy to help them with that. I would be absolutely clear and straight with them and cooperate.”
At their ancestral home in Guwahati, Sheena’s younger brother Mikhail Bora confirmed to HT that they were Indrani’s children, not siblings. While he said he knew why his sister was killed, he refused to reveal more until the Mumbai police probe ends.
“Our mother left us when we were very young, and it wasn’t until 2004 that she renewed contact. She took Sheena along to Mumbai where she did her BA in economics,” he said, adding that he had an argument with Indrani over his sister in 2013. “She (Indrani) stopped coming and sending us money thereafter. She probably wanted to sever our relationship,” said Mikhail, 25, who is a student and lives with his ailing maternal grandparents.
Officials told Hindustan Times that the probable cause of the murder was Sheena’s affair with her stepbrother, Peter Mukerjea’s younger son Rahul, which Indrani was opposed to as she was afraid of losing her share in her husband’s property if the young couple got married.
“We are also investigating if the murder has anything to do with the money the couple got after exiting INX media and INX news in 2009,” said a police officer privy to the investigation.
The Mukerjeas founded the two companies in 2007 which were merged and renamed 9X Media after the couple exited two years later.
Indrani allegedly deposited some money in Sheena’s name who later refused to return the sum as the accused had not accepted her as her daughter, police sources said.