Bombay High Court grants bail to Peter Mukerjea in Sheena Bora case

Peter Mukerjea. File pic

The Bombay High Court on Thursday granted bail to former media baron Peter Mukerjea, arrested in the Sheena Bora killing case, observing that prima facie there was no evidence of his involvement in the crime. However, on the request of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the high court stayed its order for a period of six weeks so that the probe agency could file an appeal against the order.

Peter Mukerjea was arrested on November 19, 2015, in the Sheena Bora killing case, in which his former wife Indrani Mukerjea is the main accused. Justice Nitin Sambre granted him bail on a surety of Rs two lakh. The court in its order noted there was no prima facie evidence to infer that Peter Mukerjea was involved in the commission of the crime.

"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 for more than four years and has recently undergone bypass surgery," Justice Sambre said. The court directed Peter Mukerjea not to contact his daughter Vidhi, son Rahul Mukerjea and other witnesses in the case.

According to the CBI, Peter Mukerjea along with Indrani Mukerjea and her previous husband Sanjeev Khanna entered into a criminal conspiracy to kill Sheena Bora. Sheena Bora, 24, who was allegedly killed on April 24, 2012, was Indrani Mukerjea's daughter from an earlier relationship.

The killing came to light in 2015 when Indrani Mukerjea's driver Shyamwar Rai, who had helped them dispose of the body, was arrested in another case. Rai later turned an approver in the Sheena Bora killing case. Indrani Mukerjea and Sanjeev Khanna are also lodged in jail since their arrest in the case in April 2015.

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