Aahana Swrup
Netflix’s documentary series, ‘The Indrani Mukerjea Story: Buried Truth,’ presents an in-depth exploration of the case of Sheena Bora, whose disappearance on the night of April 24, 2012, unraveled in one of India’s most sensationalized murder cases. Indrani Mukerjea, the prime accused in the case— and Sheena Bora’s mother— made a lengthy appearance in the documentary, highlighting her personal opinions and narrative. However, her former husband, Sanjeev Khanna— who had no relation to Sheena but still faced murder charges regarding the woman’s case— made no such appearance.
For the same reason, Khanna’s persisting absence within the documentary, despite the constant revoking of his name in connection to Sheena’s alleged murder, may have raised some questions among the viewers about the man. Thus, curiosity about Khanna’s current predicament is bound to follow.
Who Is Sanjeev Khanna?
Sanjeev Khanna, a businessman from Kolkata, fondly called “Sanju” by his friends, lived his life fairly out of the media until his alleged involvement in Sheena Bora’s murder brought him into the public eye. Khanna first met Indrani Mukerjea in 1990 after the latter moved from Guwahati to Kolkata. She was living in the city as a paying guest, working on a computer course, when Khanna’s paths crossed with her. Eventually, the two began dating and married each other in 1993 with a small ceremony.
Reportedly, hardly anyone from Indrani’s family attended. In fact, despite their years together before and after marriage, Khanna never actually met his wife’s family, except for a singular meeting with her father. Furthermore, Khanna claims to have been under the impression that the kids whose photograph Indrani carried in her wallet were her siblings, Sheena and Mikhail, rather than her children.
Khanna and Indrani remained married for several years and even had a daughter, Vidhie. The former’s close friend told Times of India that Indrani’s socialite tendencies compelled Khanna into social-climbing ways, encouraging him to build contacts with higher-ups. Another acquaintance, Ajay Rawla, asserted that the man cared dearly for his daughter, which inevitably made his separation from Indrani that much worse.
“She [Indrani] always wanted to make it big, and I never stopped her,” Khanna said, recalling the fallout in his marriage that occurred in 2001 after Indrani founded an HR Placement Agency and moved to Mumbai. His ex-wife procured full custody of Vidhie and soon remarried, tying the knot with Pete Mukerjea. The marriage ultimately ended up becoming a catalyst in Indrani’s success within the media network industry.
Meanwhile, Khanna remained unmarried— but according to his friends, he was in a long-term live-in relationship. Although he supposedly remained out of contact with Indrani— in 2012, around the same time as the night of Sheena’s disappearance, the man shared cryptic posts on his social media asserting, “Sometimes I get so weird, I even freak myself out.” While the same wouldn’t have come under suspicion otherwise, Shyamvar Rai’s confession in 2015 shined a different light upon the posts.
Rai, Indrani’s former driver, got caught by the Mumbai Police in an arms-related case after the department received a tip-off about Indrani. Consequently, Rai confessed that he aided his boss, Indrani, in picking Sheena up in a car that the latter later strangled her daughter in. According to Rai’s account, Khanna was also present in the car on that fateful night. As such, in August of 2015, a few months after Indrani’s arrest, the police also arrested Sanjeev Khanna as a suspect in Sheena Bora’s murder.
Sanjeev Khanna Is Currently Out On Bail
Despite Rai’s confession and the eventual discovery of a dead body believed to be Sheena’s, the court didn’t have enough evidence to come to a verdict. Therefore, even though Indrani, Rai, and Khanna were arrested for the murder charges, alongside Indrani’s now ex-husband Peter, suspected of murder conspiracy, none are convicted of their alleged crimes.
Thus, after years in prison, Khanna saw his release in June of 2022 after the high court granted him bail on a personal bond of ₹1 lakh. Moreover, the man’s passport remains within the authority’s custody, reinforcing instruction of not leaving the country. One of the working theories for explaining Khanna’s involvement in Sheena’s death remains that the man wanted his daughter, Vidhie, to receive Sheena’s share of Indrani’s property. Inversely, following Khanna’s arrest, the man’s confession to his complicity in the crime claims a different story.
As per his confession, Khanna came to Mumbai upon Indrani’s invitation after she promised to allow him visitation with his daughter Vidhie. However, he also claims that he fell asleep in the SUV with Indrani and Rai on the night of April 24. As such, he asserted that he couldn’t have actively participated in the alleged murder but woke to find Sheena’s dead body beside him later. Nevertheless, unless the court trials end, nothing can be proven.
Although Khanna sought permission to attend future trials through video conferencing, citing financial issues and his parents’ health as reasons against his physical appearance, The High Court rejected his plea. Therefore, Khanna is expected to fulfill his appearance in trials. The man continues to live outside media coverage, leaving no further updates about his current whereabouts. Yet, considering his parents reside in Kolkata, it’s probable that the man remains in his home state.
Read More: Indrani Mukerjea: Where is Sheena Bora’s Mom Now?
