Kriti Mehrotra
If there’s one thing absolutely nobody can deny, it’s that the 2012 disappearance of Sheena Bora has left the entire nation of India baffled to its core owing to the several questions still swirling around it. This much is actually even evidenced in Netflix’s ‘The Indrani Mukerjea Story: Buried Truth,’ which delves deep into nearly all evidentiary and circumstantial aspects concerning the same. It thus comes as no surprise there’s significant mention of television executive Peter Mukerjea too, especially as he was publicly arrested on several related charges back in November 2015.
Who is Peter Mukerjea?
Although born in London, England, on November 21, 1956, to a homemaker and doctor, Peter was actually primarily raised in Mumbai before relocating to Dehradun to complete his studies. He then actually returned to the UK to pursue further studies, graduating from West Herts College in Hertfordshire with a degree in business management in the mid-1970s. That’s when he kickstarted his career by landing a marketing position at both Heinz plus Storehouse before evolving into an advertising agency Account Director in London as well as New Delhi and then as a Regional Group Account Director in Hong Kong.
By this point, Peter had already tied the knot with Shabnam Singh in 1978, only to then welcome two sons into their lives, Rabin (1980) and Rahul (1982), unaware they’d end up divorcing in 1994. This is merely a year after he’d joined STAR TV as Sales Director (India) in Hong Kong, just to relocate to Mumbai shortly thereafter to establish STAR TV’s advertising sales division in India. He even managed to successfully expand the business to the Middle East, soon resulting in him being appointed Executive Vice President (in 1987) or Chief Executive Officer (CEO in 1999). He held the CEO title for over 8 years.
However, this Star TV’s member of the Board of Directors for ESPN STAR Sports, cable service operator Hathway, and joint venture company Media Content and Communications Services (India) for Star News didn’t say his goodbye and retire in until January 2007. That’s around the same time he got the idea of establishing his own media organization alongside his wife of 5 years (November 2002) just to make her the CEO of INX Services Pvt. Ltd. He himself took on the role of chief strategy officer, that is, until he realized it was time for him to retire in 2009 and sell his stake in 2010 – he even resigned from the board of directors in 2010.
But then came the case of Sheena Bora, Peter’s wife’s alleged involvement in the same, along with his own movements. She later resigned as director at INX Executive Search Private Limited too, but it was enough for most people to understand that he was much more than a media tycoon who’d gone as far as to produce some local iconic shows like ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’ and Amitabh Bachaan ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati.’ In the end, it was alleged he was as involved and aware in Sheena’s case as his wife, with the only difference being he wasn’t physically there at the time of her demise.
Peter Mukerjea is Currently Out on Bail
According to reports, Peter was charged with murder, conspiracy, plus causing the disappearance of evidence in February 2016, yet it wasn’t until Match 2020 that he was released on a Rs. 1Lakh (approx $1,200) bail. Then came his decision to pen and publish a book detailing his entire career, ‘STARSTRUCK – Confessions of a TV Executive’ in March 2021, not giving them any attention so as to simply enjoy one another’s company. In other words, today, this 67-year-old former tycoon, as well as an angel investor, is maintaining complete innocence all the while awaiting further court proceedings. He’s thus a free man at the moment, doing his best to lead a relatively normal life in Mumbai, all the while hoping for the case’s resolute verdict as quickly as possible – he wasn’t responsible and maintains so.
Read More: Mikhail Bora: Where is Sheena Bora’s Brother Now?
