Peter Mukerjea gets bail in Sheena Bora murder case; Bombay HC stays order for 6 weeks

Former media executive Peter Mukerjea was granted bail by the Bombay High Court on Thursday. He was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation on November 19, 2015, for allegedly being part of the murder conspiracy of his step-daughter Sheena Bora. Bombay HC ruled that there was no evidence to show his prima facie involvement in the crime.

Justice Nitin Sambre took into consideration factors such as Mukerjea having undergone a bypass surgery. The court also noted that Mukerjea had already languished in jail for 4 years. Granting him bail on a surety of Rs.2,00,000, the Bombay HC directed Mukerjea not to contact his son., daughter and other witnesses in the case. However, Mukerjea suffered a blow as the court stayed its order for a period of 6 weeks so that the CBI could file an appeal in the Supreme Court. 

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Justice Sambre said, "When the incident took place, the applicant (Peter Mukerjea) was not in India. The trial in the case is already underway. The applicant is in jail since more than four years and has recently undergone a bypass surgery."

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The Sheena Bora murder case

Mukerjea’s ex-wife Indrani and Sanjeev Khanna are the main accused in the murder of Bora on April 24, 2012. The alleged killing of Sheena Bora came to the fore in 2015 when Indrani Mukerjea's driver Shyamwar Rai was arrested in another case. After revealing that he helped Indrani Mukerjea and Khanna dispose off her body, he turned an approver in the case. Indrani Mukerjea and Khanna were arrested by the CBI in April 2015. As per the CBI, Peter Mukerjea entered into a criminal conspiracy along with his then wife Indrani and Khanna to murder Bora. In the supplementary CBI chargesheet filed in 2016, Peter Mukerjea was charged under Section 302 (murder), Section 120b (Conspiracy) and Section 201 (Destruction of evidence).

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