Sheena Bora murder case: Remains sent for examination to JJ Hospital in 2012 are ‘untraceable’

Sheena Bora, was allegedly murdered on April 24, 2012, and her body was dumped in a forest in Pen tehsil of Raigad district.

Mumbai: The prosecution in Sheena Bora murder case on Thursday informed the special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court that the remains – purportedly that of the victim – sent by the Pen police to the JJ Hospital in April 2012 for examination are “untraceable”.

Sheena Bora

CBI sources, however, said this will not weaken their case as they have already examined experts who prepared DNA reports on the remains collected from the site and proved in court that those were of Bora.

Sheena Bora, was allegedly murdered on April 24, 2012, and her body was dumped in a forest in Pen tehsil of Raigad district. According to the prosecution, her alleged killers – her mother Indrani Mukerjea, her ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna and her driver Shyamwar Rai – had tried to dispose of the body by burning it. The next day, the Pen police had sent the partially burnt remains – bones, skin pieces and hair - to the state-run JJ Hospital to ascertain if they were of human origin. Dr Zeba Khan, an assistant professor in the anatomy department, had examined the articles and found them to be of human origin.

CBI prosecutor CJ Nandode informed the trial court on Thursday that “after diligent search, the articles referred and examined by the witness (PW-91) Dr Zeba Khan are not traced out to the office record” and therefore he chose to proceed with the examination of Dr Khan without showing the articles to her.

The prosecution had first realized that the two packets that were sent for examination to JJ Hospital had gone missing only while recording Dr Khan’s testimony on April 25 this year. “The two packets received by the witness and examined by her are not readily traced out on the record of the case. He further submits that the articles are necessary and important to be shown to the witness,” Nandode had said at that time and had deferred further examination of the doctor.

CBI sources, however, claimed that the development will not weaken their case. “The DNA matching report on the recovered remains and bones of the deceased Sheena Bora has already been produced and exhibited in the trial court,” said a source. “The relevant witness/forensic expert has also been examined in the trial court,” he added.

Apart from the DNA report, the source said, during investigation, a medical board had minutely examined the allegedly recovered skeleton as well as conducted superimposition of the skull which established the identity of the deceased.

According to the CBI, Mukerjea killed Bora because she was furious over her relationship with Rahul Mukerjea, son of Mukerjea’s ex-husband, former media baron Peter Mukerjea, who too is an accused in the murder case. The 2012 murder came to light three years later after the police arrested Rai in another case.

Apart from the Mukerjeas, Khanna and Rai too are facing the charge of killing Sheena Bora. Rai has since become approver and has been granted conditional pardon by the court.

Indrani and Peter Mukerjea as well as Khanna are currently out on bail.