Missing link to the Sheena Bora murder case surfaces - her DNA report
Mumbai: Another twist in the mysterious Sheena Bora murder case has come about after the Mumbai police have managed to unearth a DNA report gathering dust at the Kalina Forensic Lab for almost three years. The DNA report, according to the Mumbai Mirror, is none other than Sheena’s.
It was on the basis of this report that the Mumbai police arrested former Star India CEO, Peter Mukerjea's wife, Indrani.
"It was only after the Mumbai police got their hands on this report that Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria asked Indrani that one question which unravelled a complex web of lies she had built around her life. He asked her, if Sheena was actually her step-sister, as everybody around her, including her husband, was made to believe, or her daughter?" the tabloid said. This was the question that broke Indrani.
Read: Indrani kills daughter Sheena, motive unclear, says police
The police knew the DNA report was that of a half-burnt body found in the jungles of Raigadh in May, 2012. The police also had in custody Indrani's trusted driver and co-accused in the murder Shyamvar Rai, who had already confessed to his alleged role in the murder and where the body was dumped. This gave the Mumbai police a fair idea that the body and the report might be that of Sheena's. It was enough to confront Indrani with.
Police Inspector Suresh Mirge, who investigated the case in Pen in 2012, confirmed that to the tabloid his team had sent a sample for DNA tests but the results were never collected. "Only an accidental death report was filed since there was no complaint. DNA tests results take time. I assume the team just lost track of the case," he was quoted.
Read: We were dependent on Indrani Mukerjea, says son Mikhail
The cops also had the entire story of how Sheena was killed straight from Shyamvar Rai, who had spilled the beans after his arrest in an entirely unconnected case -- illicit purchase of a gun. He too was arrested on Tuesday, while the third accused, Indrani's ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna, was arrested on Wednesday in Kolkata.
Read: Sheena Bora was strangulated, her body burnt with petrol: Mumbai police chief
Apparently, Sheena’s body was dumped so deep in the jungle that it was first spotted by a passerby only a month later. "Since there was no missing complaint and the body was badly decomposed, the Pen police filed an accidental death report and buried the body. They did send a sample for DNA testing, but forgot all about it thereafter," the report says. Till the Mumbai police reopened the case.
The motive for killing Sheena, cops have said, was Indrani's disapproval of her relationship with Peter Mukerjea's son by his first marriage, Rahul. Days after Sheena was killed, Indrani told Peter Mukerjea that she had packed her off to the US. Since Mukerjea too was not happy with his son living in with Sheena, he reportedly approved of the decision.
