The timeline of the increasingly twisted Sheena Bora case

The Sheena Bora murder case, which saw the arrest of Indrani Mukherjea, the media honcho, along with her ex husband and driver over the murder of her daughter, Sheena Bora, has been getting murkier by the day. The case, with its multitude of twists and characters, rivals the most complexly made crime story.

Here is a timeline of the events that have unfolded since the murder and arrests, three years later.

April 24, 2012: Sheena Bora takes a leave of absence and sends a resignation note. She is never seen again. Indrani Mukherjea claims that she has gone to the United States for higher studies.

May 23, 2012: The police find a decomposed body in Pen tehsil, Raigad district. They are unable to identify it and send the body to JJ Hospital. The police do not file an FIR or start an investigation.

August 25, 2015: Mumbai police arrest Indrani Mukherjea, co founder of INX Media, for alleged murder of Sheena Bora. Indrani is charged under sections 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) and 34 (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and remanded to police custody. The arrest is made on the basis of Indrani’s driver, Shyam Rai’s confession about Sheena’s murder.

August 26, 2015: Sanjeev Khanna, Indrani’s ex-husband is also arrested in Kolkata on charges of sections 364 (kidnapping), 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) and 120-B (conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code in the same issue. Mikhail Bora, Sheena’s brother, reveals that Sheena is Indrani’s daughter and not her sister, as she has been claiming otherwise. According to official documents, Sheena has been listed as the daughter of Upendra Kumar Bora and Durga Rani Bora, Indrani’s parents. Indrani admits to the fact that Sheena is actually her daughter.

August 27, 2015: Then Mumbai Police Commissioner, Rakesh Maria, interrogates Indrani and Peter Mukherjea’s stepson Rahul Mukherjea on the case. Rahul and Sheena were in a relationship that Indrani was not happy about. Rahul is grilled about his relationship with Sheena and on why he did not report her disappearance earlier. The motive behind the murder is still not clear.

August 28, 2015: Mikhail is grilled by the police. The JJ Hospital hands over the 2012 samples which were sent by the police to the hospital for age, gender and cause of death analysis in 2012.

August 29, 2015: Indrani, Shyam Rai and Sanjeev Khanna are questioned at the Khar Police Station. Indrani and Sanjeev blame each other for the murder. The car in which Sheena was killed is traced. The remains found in the forest are sent for DNA testing.

August 30, 2015: Indrani, Sanjeev and Shyam are taken to Pen forest to recreate crime scene. A suitcase, which was reportedly for packing Mikhail’s body, whom Indrani also planned to kill, is found from the residential premises of Indrani and Peter. Mikhail also states that Indrani had planned to kill him on April 23, 2012 and had spiked his drink.

August 31, 2015: Indrani is produced in court. Indrani, Shyam and Sanjeev are remanded to police custody till September 5 by a magistrate’s court. Police apply Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code against all the three for allegedly plotting to kill Mikhail.

September 1, 2015: Siddhart Das, who lives in Kolkata, confesses that he is Sheena’s biological father. He adds that he fathered Mikhail too, with Indrani, while staying at her parent’s house in Guwahati.

September 2, 2015: Indrani’s husband Peter Mukherjea brought face to face with Indrani and the two other accused. A police team go to Peter’s residence in Worli. Peter is grilled on the various money transactions that he and Indrani were involved in and about Sheena’s and Indrani’s relationship in the months leading to the murder.

September 3, 2015: Indrani admits to her role in killing Sheena. Mumbai police team question Das in Kolkata. They also seize several items from Sanjeev Khanna’s house. They seize his bank account statements, laptop and his mobile phone.

September 5, 2015: All three accused produced before court and police custody of the three accused extended till September 7. Indrani’s lawyer argues that she should not be subject to more police custody and should be sent to judicial custody. Sources reveal that through a hotmail id that Indrani had asked her employee to make, mails were sent to Peter, Mikhail and Vidhi, Indrani’s daughter with Sanjeev, and Mikhail.

September 6, 2015: Indrani taken to her Worli home to gather more information about the crime. Sanjeev and Shyam grilled at Khar station. Police say Indrani is not cooperating with investigators and call her a ‘tough nut to crack’. The Forensic Science Laboratory has informed the Mumbai police that eight of the 10 codes from DNA extracted from the skeletal remains found at Pen and accused Indrani’s blood samples have matched.

September 7, 2015: Indrani and Shyam sent to judicial custody till September 21. Sanjeev is brought back to Mumbai from Kolkata to conduct a search for evidence. Dispur police visited the house of Indrani’s parents.

September 8, 2015: Mumbai Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria promoted to the rank of Director General, Home Guards. Ahmed Javed takes over as new Police Commissioner. Maria has been taking personal interest in the case and has actively been questioning the suspects. Though his term was due to expire on September 30 and he was due for promotion, the unexpected transfer raises eyebrows. The Forensic Science Laboratory, Kalina confirms that the DNA report of the bones retrieved from the Raigad forest has a 100 percent match with Indrani’s DNA.

September 10, 2015: Cops find an email sent by Indrani to Sheena and Mikhail, threatening to disinherit both of them if they ‘act smart’ and that she will stop their monthly 40,000 payouts. These were dated March 8, 2012. Mumbai police seek Enforcement Directorate (ED) help to look into the financial dealings of Indrani and Peter.

September 18, 2015: The Maharashtra Government transfers the murder case to CBI, to ensure that there is no prejudice or interference by the local police or state government officers.

September 19, 2015: An application filed by Sanjeev for release from jail is rejected by Bandra Magistrate Court. Indrani’s pleas for home food is also rejected by jail authorities.

September 21, 2015: Bandra Metropolitan Magistrate Court extends jail custody of Sanjeev, Indrani and Shyam till October 5. Forensic experts from BYL Nair Hospital submit a report stating that the bone samples of the charred body found in Raigad in 2012 do not match the remains which were exhumed recently.

September 30, 2015: CBI lodge FIR against Indrani, Sanjeev and Shyam for hatching a criminal conspiracy to kill Sheena Bora.

October 2, 2015: Indrani Mukherjea is rushed to JJ Hospital after she complains of a chest pain. Indrani’s mother had passed away the previous evening due to age related ailments. JJ Hospital Dean, TP Lahane states that Indrani had consumed tablets and her condition is serious. Maharashtra Home Department orders an inquiry into drug overdose. An angle of attempted suicide is being probed. Indrani was on anti-epileptic pills since September 11 after she started suffering convulsions.

October 3, 2015: Indrani’s condition is critical and the next 48 hours are critical, says JJ Hospital. Indrani’s lawyer Gunjan Mangala moves an application stating that she is not being allowed to meet her client when she went to the hospital.

October 4, 2015: FSL report rules out drug overdose, but Dean Lahane sticks to his earlier diagnosis of drug overdose. Indrani remains critical and unconscious.

October 5, 2015: JJ Lahane goes by the FSL report and states that It is not a case of drug overdose, as her blood samples did not show excessively high levels of Etizolam or Mirtazapine, medication to curb anxiety. Indrani is conscious but drowsy and consuming liquids.

October 6, 2015: Indrani’s statement to be recorded, if the consultant psychiatrist permits. Home Department looks at tightening security around Indrani amid questions about how she got hold of the drugs. Indrani’s, Sanjeevs and the driver’s judicial custody extended till October 19^th. Counsel from CBI seeks permission from court to examine the three in jail.

October 7, 2015: Indrani is discharged from JJ Hospital and returns to jail. The Hospital and her treating doctors stick to their initial report of drug overdose. The hospital’s discharge card states that the urine report from Hinduja - confirmed a level of 2,088 ng/ml of Benzodiazepine, ten times the safe limit. Court allows CBI to quiz all three in jail and grants 12 days permission for it.

Gayatri Vinayak