Peter accused of Sheena's murder, sent to CBI custody

Mumbai, Nov 20  A Special CBI court on Friday sent former media tycoon Peter Mukerjea to the CBI custody till Monday for his alleged involvement in the kidnapping and murder of his step-daughter Sheena Bora.

He was arrested late Thursday in connection with the 2012 murder case.

A prosecution lawyer said that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sought his custody since it "wanted to interrogate him on the question whether he is involved in the conspiracy which was hatched to kill Sheena Bora".

Peter Mukearjea, the fourth accused in the case so far, is former CEO of Star Group and husband of one of the three prime accused in the case, Indrani Mukearjea.

Besides the Mukerjea couple, Indrani's ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna and her former driver Shyamwar Rai are also co-accused in the case.

The CBI has charged Peter with the same sections also slapped on the other three prime accused who were arrested last August and are currently in judicial custody till December 3.

The crimes listed include kidnapping, murder, criminal conspiracy, destruction of evidence, attempt to murder, and some other.

The motive behind Sheena Bora's killing is not clear yet.

According to investigators, Sheena Bora, 24, an employee with a private company in Mumbai, was allegedly strangulated in a car on the night of April 24, 2012.

Her body was taken in the vehicle to an isolated spot in the forests near Gagode village in adjacent Raigad district, around 80 km south of Mumbai.

They poured petrol over Sheena's body and set it afire and dumped her half-burnt remains in the thick bushes from where these were found on May 23, a month later, by a local villager.

However, at that time, the Raigad police failed to register a complaint in the case and the matter is being separately investigated.

Nearly three years after the killing, forensic and other tests confirmed that the remnants found in the forests are indeed of Sheena Bora.