In the bustling city of Mumbai, beneath the veneer of glamour and success, a sinister tale of deception, betrayal, and murder unfolded in 2012 – a tale that has captivated the nation for over a decade. Twenty-five-year-old Sheena Bora, an ambitious executive working for Mumbai Metro One, vanished without a trace on April 24, 2012. She was never seen again.
After investigating the case for years, Mumbai police arrested Sheena’s mother Indrani Mukerjea, a former media executive, and her second husband, Peter Mukerjea, along with their driver, Shyamvar Rai, in August 2015. The charges? Abduction, murder, and the gruesome disposal of Sheena Bora’s body.
The arrest came after months of surveillance on Indrani, initiated following a tip-off and Rai’s earlier arrest for illegal weapons possession.
How Sheena Bora Was Murdered
Sheena Bora was allegedly strangled to death in a car by Indrani, her then-driver Shyamvar Rai, and ex husband Sanjeev Khanna in April 2012.
Peter Mukerjea; Sheena Bora with step-brother Rahul. (File photo)
During interrogation, Khanna and Rai confessed to the crime. However, Indrani vehemently denied the accusations, claiming Sheena was alive and well, residing in the United States.
Shyam Rai’s interrogation allegedly revealed details of Sheena’s murder, implicating Indrani and her ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna.
According to Rai’s account, the murder was meticulously planned, with Indrani surveying the location for the disposal of the body a day before the crime. On the evening of April 24, 2012, Khanna allegedly strangled Sheena in a by-lane in Bandra, following her drop-off by Rahul Mukerjea. The body was then transported to Indrani’s residence in Worli, where it was concealed in a bag and stuffed in the trunk of a car, claim investigators.
Rai claimed that the trio then embarked on a haunting journey to the village of Gagode in Maharashtra to dispose of the body by burning it.
What Was The Motive
During the trial, several dark secrets of the Mukerjea family came to light. Sheena Bora was allegedly in a live-in relationship with her step-brother Rahul, the younger son of Peter Mukerjea with his first wife. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) claimed that financial disputes and Indrani’s opposition to Sheena’s relationship with Rahul were key factors behind the murder. The alleged conspiracy, involving Peter Mukerjea as well, painted a picture of a complex familial dynamic marred by jealousy and conflicts.
Indrani Mukerjea, while being held in Byculla jail on charges of murdering her daughter, emerged with a memoir titled ‘Unbroken: The Untold Story’ in which she said that Sheena Bora was like a sister to her, not a daughter.
In the city where dreams and nightmares collide, the Sheena Bora murder case remains a haunting tale, a dark chapter etched in the records of crime history.
The docu-series, titled ‘The Indrani Mukerjea Story: The Buried Truth’, delves into the disappearance of Sheena Bora and is scheduled to premiere on streaming platform Netflix on February 29.
