Former media executive Indrani Mukerjea, accused of killing her daughter Sheena Bora, was released from Mumbai’s Byculla Prison on Friday, two days after being granted bail by the Supreme Court. Walking out of prison after furnishing a cash bond of Rs 2 lakh, Mukerjea told media persons that she is elated with the development.
Granting her bail on Wednesday, the Supreme Court had said that Mukerjea had already spent 6.5 years behind bars and that the trial is not going to conclude anytime soon. The top court further said that her bail would be subject to the same conditions that were imposed upon her ex-husband Peter Mukerjea, another accused in the case, who was granted bail last year. In its bail order, the top court granted bail to Mukerjea and directed the trial court in Mumbai to finalise her bail conditions.
A bench comprising Justices L Nageswara Rao, B R Gavai and A S Bopanna passed the order in a special leave petition filed against an order by the Bombay High Court in November 2021 rejecting Indrani’s bail plea.
Special CBI judge VC Barde on Thursday asked Mukerjea to furnish a surety of Rs 2 lakh within two weeks. Mukerjea also needs to surrender her passport before the special court and has been barred from leaving India without the court’s permission. Other conditions imposed for bail include no contact with any witness in the case and no tampering with evidence, besides being present to attend the trial without seeking any adjournments.
Mukerjea is accused of allegedly killing her daughter Sheena on April 24, 2012. She was subsequently arrested by Khar police on August 25, 2015, and has been lodged at the Byculla Jail since September 2015. Her former husband Peter Mukerjea, ex-CEO of Star India, and Sanjeev Khanna are the other co-accused in the case.