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.

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.

Gajendra Chauhan, the Governing Council of Film and Television of India (FTII) came under a lot of criticism from the students of the institution and also personalities from diverse fields on his appointment as Chairman of the institution.

A meeting will be held on December 18 in the campus which will be chaired by Chauhan, who also happens to be the FTII Society President. The current 26-member FTII society will meet for the first time since June 9, 2015.

Reportedly, actors like Vidya Balan, Satish Shah and director Raj Kumar Hirani will be present apart from the appointees to the FTII Society.

The meeting was deferred deliberately until the end of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), so as to “avoid unwanted trouble” during the event.

According to sources, Chauhan said, “Yes, I got a communication from the institute and a go-ahead from the ministry to hold the meeting of the FTII Society. The meeting will take place on December 18 and all society members are likely to attend.”

Noted lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani said that he had asked Peter Mukerjea, arrested in Sheena Bora murder case, not to talk to the media about the case but the former media magnate’s interview to a news channel prior to this “advice” had already started the “media trial”.

Jethmalani, who represents Peter Mukerjea in court in the murder case, while taking part in the panel discussion on ‘Anatomy of an Investigation – The Art and Science of Forensics’ in Times LitFest, decried the “increasing tendency” of the media to conduct trials in sensational cases even before the judicial process takes off.

“This is why I had advised Peter not to talk to the press or give any interview to the media. But even before my advice, he had given an interview to a news channel, that turned out like a trial for him even before the actual trial started,” Jethmalani said.

Peter, 59, husband of Indrani, was arrested on November 19 for his alleged role in the Sheena Bora murder case. While Indrani, her former husband Sanjeev Khanna and her driver Shyamvar Rai were chargesheeted after their arrest in the case in August, Peter, arrested on November 19, is in judicial custody till December 14.

Asked about whether the judiciary should believe in investigative reports by reporters of reputed media houses, Jethmalani said, “It is absolutely fine for the investigative journalists to alert about scams, suppressed murders and concealed crimes but it is not proper for media to start promoting evidences and commenting on it before the trial begins in court.”