Who is Indrani Mukerjea? The media tycoon was accused of killing her own daughter, Sheena Bora, whom she introduced to Mumbai's high society as her sister.
Ever since Netflix India announced the docu-series based on the most gripping and infamous Sheena Bora murder case, people have been anxiously searching and reading about the same. Directed by Uraaz Bahl and Shaana Levy, the series titled, The Indrani Mukerjea Story: Buried Truth, is not just based on true events but also features real characters.
According to a press note, the docu-series will feature Indrani Mukerjea, her kids, Vidhie Mukerjea and Mikhail Bora and many veteran journalists and lawyers. One of the most notorious cases of 2015, the docu-series highlights the story of a dysfunctional family and will also feature many unseen moments and recordings between Indrani and her husband, Peter Mukerjea.
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The four-part docu-series is slated to release on February 23, 2024. As there is a lot of hullabaloo about the series, let us delve into some unknown details about the most controversial character of the series and the case, Indrani Mukerjea.
Born in 1972 in Guwahati, Assam to Upendra Kumar Bora and Durga Rani Bora, Indrani Mukerjea was named Pori Bora at birth. After completing her schooling in Guwahati, Indrani moved to Shillong to pursue her higher education. In 1986, she met Siddharth Das, with whom she reportedly has two kids, Sheena Bora (1987) and Mikhail Bora (1988). Indrani never got married to Siddharth and in 1990, she left her kids with her parents in Guwahati and moved to Kolkata.
Indrani stayed as a paying guest in Kolkata and met Sanjeev Khanna. She got married to him in 1993 and gave birth to a daughter in 1997 and named her Vidhie. Soon, Indrani and Sanjeev decided to head for a divorce due to reasons best known to them. In 2001, the family moved to Mumbai and in 2002, Indrani met Peter Mukerjea.
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While awaiting her divorce from Sanjeev Khanna, Indrani moved in with Peter. The duo got married in November 2022. After Indrani’s marriage with Peter, her daughter, Vidhie Khanna moved in with her mother and took the Mukerjea surname.
Indrani Mukerjea came across as a highly ambitious woman. However, she was quite insecure as well in her professional life and often turned paranoid. In 1996, Indrani founded INX Services Private Limited as a recruitment company in Kolkata. She met Peter Mukerjea, a British television executive, who at that time was at the top of his career. From 1997 to 2007, Peter was the CEO of STAR India.
From a Human Resources Consultant, Indrani emerged as a business partner with Peter when he left STAR and collaborated with INX to form NewsX as a current affairs channel. As Indrani was married to Peter, she dominated her power and established her role in content, marketing and human resources.
She not only held regular meetings in the newsroom but also positioned herself in charge of hiring and firing personnel. In 2008, Indrani fired five television journalists in NewsX without any prior notice and one among them was Executive Editor, Avirook Sen. After leaving the organization, in one of his articles, Avirook mentioned how every month Indrani took two to three meetings and people who attended the same only talked about Indrani’s nastiness and her intolerance for dissent.
After the financial crisis of 2007 and 2008 hit the media industry, INX accumulated major losses and debts. As the company ran out of cash, the Mukerjeas resigned from their positions. In 2010, Indrani and Peter sold their stakes in the company, sold the channel went to live in Bristol and visited Mumbai frequently.
In 2005, Indrani introduced her children, Sheena Bora and Mikhail Bora, to her second husband, Peter Mukerjae, as her younger siblings. In 2006, Sheena moved in with the Mukerjaes and was enrolled in St. Xavier’s College. In 2011, Sheena joined Mumbai Metro One as an assistant manager. On April 24, 2012, Sheena suddenly disappeared and was never seen again.
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In 2015, Indrani Mukerjea was arrested by Mumbai Police in connection with the alleged murder of Sheena Bora. After Indran’s arrest, her son Mikhail revealed that Sheena was Indrani’s daughter rather than her sister. No FIR was written after Sheena’s disappearance as it was alleged by Indrani that she had sent Sheena to the United States for higher studies.
Months before Indrani’s arrest, Mumbai Police commenced surveillance and arrested Indrani’s driver, Shyamvar Pinturam Rai and during the interrogation, he revealed details of Sheena’s murder. As per Rai, Indrani planned Sheena’s murder with her ex-husband, Sanjeev Khanna. Indrani, along with Sanjeev and Shyamvar Pinturam Rai, allegedly abducted Sheena on April 12, 2012, strangled her, then burnt and dumped her body.
One of the prime reasons for Sheena’s murder was that she was in a relationship with Rahul Mukerjea, Peter Mukerjea’s son from his previous marriage. After being charged with multiple charges under IPC, and was sent to Byculla Jail, Mumbai. Indrani’s trial began in 2017, but she had denied her involvement in the case. After multiple rejections, Indrani was granted bail in 2022 after more than six years as an undertrial.
During her more than six years stay in jail, Indrani wrote her memoir, Unbroken: The Untold Story, in which she stripped the layers of her life and also mentioned every detail of the case. However, to everyone’s surprise, Indrani made startling claims about Sheena being alive. Elaborating on the same, she stated:
“I am now at peace after Sheena was spotted at the Guwahati airport by my friend - Saveena. Being an advocate herself, her quick thinking got us the footage of Sheena from the airport. Something changed in me after this information came to the fore. The person I am accused of killing is out and about, while I was rotting in jail. Why hasn't she come out openly? I don't know. I am sure there are reasons and pressures holding her back.”
There are many layers to Indrani Mukerjea, and as we dig deeper, there are many hidden truths. From the horse’s mouth, Indrani unravelled many mysteries of her life, and now only time will tell whether she is guilty or not.
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