Aahana Swrup
Netflix’s ‘The Indrani Mukerjea Story: Buried Truth,’ a documentary series, delves into the murder case of Sheena Bora, wherein her own mother, Indrani Mukerjea— who denies all accusations— stands as the prime accused. The documentary includes the perspectives and narratives of numerous people— industry professionals or people close to Sheena— who bring particular insights into the case. The same allows the series to present the details surrounding Sheena’s disappearance with dynamic authenticity.
Within this ensemble, Mikhail Bora, Sheena’s brother, and Indrani’s second-born, also puts forth his own account of the story, establishing his strong beliefs about his mother’s involvement in the crime. Given the man’s participation in the persisting court trial as a witness for the prosecution, Mikhail Bora must have attracted the audience’s attention, inviting curiosity about his current whereabouts.
Who Is Mikhail Bora?
Mikhail Bora was Indrani Mukerjea’s second child, born in 1988 out of wedlock from her relationship with Siddharth Das. Although Indrani claims in the documentary that her first child, Sheena Bora, was a result of the sexual abuse the former faced at the hands of her own father, Das still maintains on record that Sheena is his daughter. Regardless of genealogy, Mikhail and Sheena grew up as siblings in Guwahati under their grandparents’ care.
According to Mikhail, Indrani’s decision to do so resulted in feelings of abandonment in her children. Eventually, Indrani allowed the children back into her life a few years after the birth of her third child, Vidhie, from her marriage with Sanjeev Khanna. However, she established a condition that both Mikhail and Sheena would have to refer to her as their sister rather than their mother and keep the reality of their births a secret.
Thus, the three Boras began their lives with each other in their orbits. While Indrani claims she provided a good life to her children— even the ones she treated as her siblings publicly— Mikhail insists his mother remained manipulative through and through. “Sheena told me that she wanted to call Indrani “ma” but Indrani did not allow it,” Mikhail claimed.
“She [Indrani] would not treat Sheena and Vidhie equally,” concluded Sheena’s brother. While Sheena stayed in Mumbai for her studies, she lived with Indrani and her third husband, Peter Mukerjea, who legally adopted Vidhie from Indrani’s previous marriage as his own. Vidhie, on her end, maintains that she and Sheena shared a deep bond, untarnished by feelings of envy.
Nevertheless, Sheena’s relationship with her mother, Indrani, stayed taut, especially after the former developed a romantic relationship with Rahul, Peter’s son from a previous marriage. Indrani was against this relationship and often employed Mikhail’s help to dissuade Sheena from Rahul. According to Mikhail’s accounts, Indrani consistently pressured him into doing so with threats of rescinding financial aid from his grandparents.
By 2011, the relationship between Sheena and Indrani had worsened, with the former living in a rented apartment with Rahul, her now fiance, away from their families since 2009. However, on the night of April 24, 2012, when Sheena’s decision to meet up with her mother led to her eventual disappearance, Mikhail claims to have undergone a similar experience.
That night, Mikhail arrived in Mumbai from Guwahati and went to Indrani’s Worli residence. The man recalls that despite his mother’s invitation, she didn’t arrive home until 10 p.m. with Sanjeev Khanna and Shyamvar Rai, her driver. Afterward, they served Mikhail some alcohol that left him feeling suspicious, leading to his departure early next morning. Once the CBI started looking into the case in 2015, following Indrani’s arrest with the accusation of Sheena’s murder, they believed that Indrani was planning to kill Mikhail all along.
Mikhail Bora Continues to Stand Against His Mother
Mikhail learned about Sheena’s death in 2012, once it broke into the new channels in 2015 following Indrani’s arrest on the charges of murder. Prior to the same, Mikhail claims to have believed his mother when she told him about Sheena’s move to the U.S. As such, Mikhail became a witness for his mother’s prosecution as the court trials for Sheena Bora’s case began.
In March 2016, rumors began speculating if Mikhail was involved in Sheena’s murder— a claim he instantly shut down. “Mumbai Police and CBI have investigated the matter very well, and if I had done something wrong, they would have arrested me long back,” Mikhail asserted during the time. “Indrani is just trying to escape, and I know CBI is on the right track now. Hopefully, we will get justice soon, and the accused should be hanged.”
He further discussed how Indrani had taken away financial aid from his grandparents in 2014 and fabricated a “fake certificate of [my] bad mental state” to prevent him from seeking employment. Interestingly, in the same year, Mikhail also participated in ‘Big Boss Bangla,’ a reality TV show. During his time on the show, the man often discussed his relationship with Indrani, alongside other details about his family life, while being a part of an ongoing investigation.
As the case progressed, other facets of Mikhail’s relationship with Indrani came out, particularly his alleged cannabis-induced psychosis that resulted in his hospitalization at Masina Hospital for two months. In the documentary, Mikhail claims his time at the hospital was a torturous act meant to threaten and silence him after he revealed his true parentage to a few people.
Nevertheless, Yusuf Matcheswalla, a senior doctor at the institution, told the CBI that Mikhail’s hospitalization was due to his attack on his school principal, even though the doctor couldn’t provide records for it as per SC guidelines. Thus, Mikhail’s past with Indrani remains convoluted, with contradictory accounts from both sides.
According to reports, Mikhail also feared for his life in 2018, suspecting that Hrishikesh Burgohai, the executor of his late grandmother’s will, may pose a threat to him due to the latter’s communications with Indrani. Even though the allegedly threatening incident unnerved Mikhail, compelling him to pull out of the probate, the man didn’t let it deter him from his intentions.
Ultimately, as proven by Mikhail Bora’s participation in the Netflix documentary, the man continues to stand against Indrani, believing her to be behind his sister’s murder. Yet, due to his lack of a social media presence, no further update can be made available.
Read More: Indrani Mukerjea: Where is Sheena Bora’s Mom Now?
