Even after Indrani, Peter's arrest, why Sheena Bora's murder still remains mystery

New Delhi: The Sheena Bora murder mystery has been grabbing headlines since the day it came into light. The protagonist, who allegedly plotted the murder, is the victim's mother Indrani Mukerjea.

Indrani allegedly plotted the murder of her daughter with the help of her present husband Peter Mukerjea, ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna and her driver.

The plot has thickened since the prime suspect's current husband and ex-media baron Mukerjea was formally arrested as an accomplice on November 19 by the CBI, reports India Legal.

The new arrests and revelations have twisted the case for some, while also leading to newer clues. These seem to suggest the following:

There may be a direct link between the murder and the money stockpiled by the Mukerjeas after the sale of their company, INX Media in 2009. The CBI told the special court in Mumbai on November 26 that as much as Rs. 900 crore illegal funds from the INX Media transaction were parked through shell companies abroad, including in accounts opened for Sheena Bora in HSBC, Singapore.

With the CBI accumulating all the evidences, the revelations were shocking.

Peter, who tried to portray himself as 'another victim' of Indrani's plan, was fully aware of the plan to murder Sheena. It is now revealed, through a series of emails he had sent to his son, Rahul, that he was very much a part of the plot and knew of every step his wife was taking.

Going by what the CBI told the court, there is obviously much more in the case. The agency has now gone back to a 2013 probe report of the Serious Fraud Investigation office (SFIO), under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, which looked into the dubious sale of INX Media.

The CBI has taken cognizance of the SFIO report, although it may look at it only within the narrow ambit of the murder investigation.

A police official, who is following the case closely, told India Legal that high stakes must certainly be involved for someone like Sanjeev Khanna to get himself entangled in the sordid mess.

Khanna was a fairly successful and respected businessman in Kolkata, owned an upscale restaurant and dabbled in real estate and the hotel development business before he was implicated in the murder.

"Why would he get involved? The explanation that he willingly joined the plot so that his daughter Vidhie's interests would be served and she would become the rightful heir to Peter's wealth is too simplistic. It may be recalled that Sanjeev was dumped by Indrani and their daughter was legally adopted by Peter. Why would Sanjeev agree to be part of the murder unless there were big bucks involved and he was promised a share?" he pointed out.

There are several questions that have bewildered investigators ever since the case came to light in August this year.