Indrani Mukherjea
Mrs. Indrani Mukerjea in 2023
Born
Pori Bora[1]

Guwahati, Assam, India[2]
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)HR consultant and media executive
Years active1996–2009
Spouses
PartnerSiddhartha Das (1986–1989)[3]
Children3, including Sheena Bora

Indrani Mukerjea is an Indian-born British former HR consultant and media executive. She was the wife of Peter Mukerjea, a retired Indian television executive. In 2007, she co-founded INX Media with her ex-husband, where she took on the role of CEO. In 2009, she resigned from the company and later sold her stake in it. In August 2015, she was arrested by Mumbai Police and charged as the main accused in the alleged murder of her daughter, Sheena Bora.

Personal life

Indrani Mukerjea was born in 1972 in Guwahati, Assam into a Assamese family to Upendra Kumar Bora and Durga Rani Bora.[4] She was named Pori Bora[1] at birth and spent her childhood in Guwahati. While as per records she is born in the year 1972 however as per Siddhartha Das, former husband of Indrani Mukherjee her real age should be more than 7 years than what is stated in the records. After completing school there, she moved to Shillong to pursue higher education at Lady Keane College. In 1986 she met Siddhartha Das with whom she had a daughter, Sheena, in February 1987 and a son, Mikhail, in September 1988.[3] In 1990 Indrani left the children under the care of her parents in Guwahati and moved to Kolkata. There she studied computers and stayed as a paying guest.[5] A few months after her move to Kolkata, she met Sanjeev Khanna.[6] They got married in 1993 and had a daughter named Vidhie in 1997. In 2001 they moved to Mumbai.

In 2002, Indrani met Peter Mukerjea and moved in with him while awaiting her divorce from Sanjeev Khanna. In November 2002, Indrani married Peter Mukerjea.[5][7] After this marriage Vidhie Khanna moved in with the Mukerjeas and took the Mukerjea name.[5] In 2005 Indrani introduced her children, Sheena Bora and Mikhail Bora, to Peter as her younger siblings.[8] In 2006 Sheena Bora also moved in with the Mukerjeas.[9] After April 2012, Sheena was not seen again.

Around 2012 Indrani acquired United Kingdom citizenship based on marriage to Peter Mukerjea, himself a United Kingdom citizen.[10][11] From 2012 until 2015, the Mukerjeas divided their time between residences in Worli, Mumbai, Bristol, UK and Marbella, Spain.[1][12]

Career

In 1996 Indrani founded INX Services Private Limited as a recruitment company in Kolkata.[2][13] In 2001 Indrani moved to Mumbai, where her recruitment firm considered Reliance Industries as her most important client.[14] The firm also handled recruitment for STAR India.[2] In 2005, the firm formed a partnership with Switzerland-based global executive search specialist, IMD International Search Group, which appointed Indrani as its regional director, Asia Pacific.[15][16]

In December 2006 Peter and Indrani Mukerjea became promoters of the INX Group, which consisted of human resources companies INX Services and INX Executive Search, and media companies INX Media and INX News. Indrani was appointed chairperson of INX Group.[17] Peter and Indrani Mukerjea held a 50% stake in INX Media.[18] The other half was held by private equity firms for a total funding of $170 million (₹750 crore according to the exchange rate at the time).[19]

INX News was incorporated on 22 December 2006 with an authorized capital of ₹7.5 crore (75 million) divided into ₹75 lakh (7.5 million) shares of ₹10 each.[20] INX Media took a 26% stake in INX News since Government of India regulations did not permit foreign direct investment in Indian news media beyond that limit at that time.[20] IM Media, a corporate entity claimed to be 99% owned by Indrani Mukerjea through her holding company Indrani Incon Pvt Ltd., held the majority 51% stake in INX News. Indrani Mukerjea personally held a 17% stake. Peter Mukerjea, a foreign national, could not claim ownership in INX News. In March 2007 Vir Sanghvi, hired as CEO of INX News, was given a 16% stake as sweat equity.[21]

Peter Mukerjea, bound by a non-compete clause from his previous employer, became chairman of the human resources company INX Services Private Limited in January 2007.[16] In August 2007, Peter joined INX Media as chairman and chief strategy officer.[22][23] In November 2007 Indrani became the CEO of INX Media.[15]

At INX Media, Peter looked after advertisement, finance, distribution and revenues while Indrani was in charge of content, human resources and marketing.[23][24] In the first phase of operations, INX Media launched the Hindi general entertainment channel 9X and the Hindi youth music channel 9XM in November 2007. NewsX, an English news channel, launched in March 2008. In its first year of operations, the INX Group spent almost the entire corpus it had raised from foreign investors.[25] Employees suspected that vendors were encouraged to present inflated invoices so that the Mukerjeas could earn kickbacks.[26] By September 2008, all the investors in INX Media were looking to sell some part of their stake to raise funding for the second phase of expansion. They wanted $150 million to launch three regional channels, three regional music channels and three city-specific news channels.[27]

When the global financial crisis of 2007–08 hit the Indian media industry, advertisers could not pay their dues and INX Media in turn could not pay its vendors.[26] Employees suspected that TRP ratings of the general entertainment channel 9X were being added to those of NewsX in order to present a rosy picture to the investors. An audit conducted by Temasek Holdings brought up suspicions that the Mukerjeas had siphoned off ₹160 crores (₹1.6 billion) from the company.[26] In January 2009, the Mukerjeas sold INX Media and its loss-making channel NewsX to Indi Media Network, a partnership between the Nai Dunia promoter and CEO Vinay Chhajlani and former Businessworld editor Jehangir S Pochaa.[28][29][30] By March 2009 INX Media had accumulated losses of Rs 800 crore and was in debt to the tune of Rs 100 crore. Temasek Holdings and Kotak Mahindra were looking to exit.[31] With the company running out of cash and outstanding payments to creditors mounting,[32] the Mukerjeas resigned from their management positions. In March 2009 Indrani left, with Peter following a month later.[18][33] By April 2010, the Mukerjeas had sold their stake in the company.[34] In May 2011, the Mukerjeas resigned from their position on the board of directors of the company.[35]

Awards

In November 2008, The Wall Street Journal named Indrani as one of 50 Women to Watch.[36] Uttar Bhartiya Mahasangh, an organization that aims to promote the north Indian community in the country, awarded Indrani Mukerjea with the title of Uttar Ratna for her "outstanding work in the art, media and broadcasting sector".[37]

Controversies

Conflict and fraud at INX Media

Starting from mid-2007 Indrani Mukerjea, as the chairperson of INX News, found herself in conflict with Vir Sanghvi, the CEO over control of the organization.[1][38] On January 23, 2008 NewsX announced that as a consequence, Vir Sanghvi would resign on January 29, 2008.[39][40][41][42]

On the evening of January 31, 2008 Indrani Mukerjea fired five television journalists at NewsX without prior notice or explanation: executive editor Avirook Sen, head of domestic news, Rajesh Sundaram, editorial adviser Nick Pollard, consultant Arun Roy Chowdhury, and news anchor Kailash Menon.[43][44] Protesting against this unprofessional conduct, a further nine television journalists resigned, among them news coordinator Prakash Patra, and Narendra Nag.[45] The following day, February 1, 2008, a group of former NewsX employees took their grievances to Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, then Minister of Information and Broadcasting in the Government of India.[46][47] Dasmunshi conveyed their concern over dubious sources of funding at INX Media to P. Chidambaram, then Minister of Finance in the Government of India.[48][49][50] Chidambaram in turn requested the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) to look into the allegations of financial impropriety.[51]

In February 2008 Rajesh Sundaram and Avirook Sen filed legal notices against NewsX seeking damages over their unfair dismissal.[52] By September 15, 2008 Avirook Sen had received a settlement worth ₹2 crore (₹20 million) paid out over four equal monthly installments.[53]

In the weeks following the departure of Vir Sanghvi, there was a mass exodus of talent from NewsX,[54] leaving it unable to meet its commitment to jittery investors of the launch of a news channel by March 31, 2008.[42] The Mukerjeas started exploring an exit route from INX Media[51] and ultimately sold it to Indi Media Network, partly owned by Nai Dunia promoter and CEO Vinay Chhajlani.

According to a report filed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) in April 2013 based on its investigation into the Niira Radia tapes, IM Media, the majority stake holder in INX News, was a front for Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Limited (RIL).[55] As per SFIO, Chhajlani's Nai Dunia was also indirectly owned by Mukesh Ambani, thus making IM Media and Nai Dunia related companies. On January 7, 2009 shares in INX Media, previously valued at ₹208.24, were sold to Nai Dunia for just ₹10 each. The SFIO report recommended charges be filed for causing wrongful losses to the ordinary shareholders of RIL under Indian Penal Code Sections 120B (conspiracy), 415 (cheating), 418 (cheating with knowledge that wrongful loss may ensue to person whose interest offender is bound to protect), and 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property).[55][56]

Foreign exchange violation at INX Group

In 2010, the Enforcement Directorate, a financial crime fighting agency, registered a case under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) for diverting foreign direct investment by three Mauritius-based companies in INX Media to its step down subsidiaries without prior approval of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).[57] The three companies named were New Vernon Private Equity Limited, New Silk Route (NSR) PE Mauritius, and Dunearn Investment (Mauritius). In 2013 the investigation was halted without explanation.[58] In May 2014 the investigative wing of the Central Board of Direct Taxes compiled a tax history of the INX Group and suggested that the Mukerjeas had laundered ₹275.5 crore (₹2.755 billion) via Mauritius into eight INX Group subsidiary companies between 2007 and 2008.[59][60] In September 2015 the Mumbai office of the Enforcement Directorate indicated that it would reopen the 2010 FEMA case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.[61] [62]

Sheena Bora murder case

In 2015 Indrani Mukerjea was arrested by Mumbai Police in connection with the alleged murder of her daughter, Sheena Bora, in 2012.[63] She was sent to judicial custody at a women's-only prison in Byculla Jail, Mumbai.[64][65] The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took over the case[66] and filed charges against Indrani under the Indian Penal Code Sections 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), 34 (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating and forgery), 364 (kidnapping) and 120-B (conspiracy).[67] [68] CBI officials contended that Peter and Indrani Mukerjea had siphoned off money from INX Media and parked it in an offshore bank account in Sheena Bora's name.[69][70] The CBI speculated this financial angle as a motive for Sheena Bora's murder.[71][72] Sheena Bora was also in a relationship with Peter Mukerjea's son from earlier marriage, Rahul, which Indrani Mukerjea disapproved of.

While in custody, Mukerjea informed the court in 2016 that she had translated 700 verses of the Bhagavad Gita into English from Sanskrit. She had sought permission from a CBI court in Mumbai to publish them. In 2017, following a jail inmate's death due to alleged torture by jail officials, Indrani and 200 other prisoners in Byculla women's prison were booked for rioting. The jail officials accused of murdering the inmate are currently being tried in a fast-track court.

After her bail plea was rejected by the Bombay High Court, the Supreme Court granted her bail in 2022 after more than 6 years as an undertrial, and she returned home to her Worli residence.[73] The Court while granting bail, noted that of the 237 prosecution witnesses, 185 witnesses still remain to be examined, and there was no sign of the trial completing soon.[74] Her bail conditions included surrendering her passport, not contacting any of the witnesses, and not seeking adjournment of the case.[75]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Archana Shukla (27 August 2015). "From Pori Bora to Mrs Mukerjea". Indian Express. Archived from the original on 28 August 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "From power woman to murder accused: rise, rise and fall of Indrani". Hindustan Times. 27 August 2015. Archived from the original on 28 August 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  3. 1 2 Pooja Mehta (1 September 2015). "Sheena and Mikhail born out of wed-lock, wants guilty to be hanged: Siddhartha Das". Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  4. ↑ Prabin Kalita (30 August 2015). "Indrani is my daughter: Upendra". Times of India. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 Mohua Das (26 August 2015). "She always carried pic of a little girl & boy: Khanna". Times of India. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  6. ↑ Subrata Nagchoudhury (26 August 2015). "Indrani Mukherjea's former husband Sanjeev Khanna: A highly connected man". Indian Express. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  7. ↑ Nupur Mahajan (17 October 2002). "Peter Mukherjea ready to tie the knot with his new star". Times of India. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  8. ↑ "Indrani Mukerjea Case: Peter Mukerjea speaks out about his son's relationship with Sheena". Daily News and Analysis. 26 August 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  9. ↑ Samudra Gupta Kashyap (29 August 2015). "I know the exact cause of Sheena's murder: Indrani's son Mikhail Bora". Indian Express. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  10. ↑ Naziya Alvi Rahman (11 September 2015). "Sheena Bora murder case: Indrani changed citizenship around the time of Sheena Bora murder". Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  11. ↑ Rashmi Rajput (11 September 2015). "Sheena Bora Murder: UK consulate officials reach Byculla jail to check on Indrani, directed to MHA". Indian Express. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  12. ↑ Malavika Sangghvi (3 July 2015). "Hot gig with Coldplay". MidDay. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  13. ↑ Devina Joshi (30 May 2007). "Indrani Mukerjea's INX Group on the hunt for agencies". agencyfaqs!. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  14. ↑ Ruchika Shah (27 August 2015). "Peter – Indrani Mukerjea saga: The who's who of INX Media". Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  15. 1 2 "Indrani Mukerjea officially appointed as CEO INX media". agencyfaqs!. 6 November 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  16. 1 2 Anushree Madan Mohan (21 January 2007). "Mukerjea in new avatar as HR wiz". Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  17. ↑ Sahad PV (14 March 2007). "Peter Mukerjea's TV Venture Announced". GigaOM. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  18. 1 2 "Peter Mukerjea and Indrani Mukerjea to step down at INX Media". afaqs!. 12 March 2009. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  19. ↑ Aminah Sheikh (7 May 2007). "INX Media gets foreign consults for TV foray". Business Standard. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  20. 1 2 "Indrani Mukerjea plans bouquet of channels". CNBC-TV18. MoneyControl.com. 14 March 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  21. ↑ "Vir Sanghvi to head new English news channel". Press Trust of India. Daily News and Analysis. 14 March 2007. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  22. ↑ "Peter Mukerjea joins INX Media officially as chief strategy officer". agencyfaqs!. 21 August 2007. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  23. 1 2 Ravi Teja Sharma; Pritha Mitra Dasgupta (29 August 2015). "How Indrani and husband Peter Mukerjea lost the plot at INX Media". Economic Times. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  24. ↑ Ajita Shashidhar (26 January 2008). "'She's the slave driver and I'm the slave'". Outlook Business. Archived from the original on 13 February 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  25. ↑ Ruchika Shah (31 August 2015). "Peter - Indrani Mukerjea saga: Here's how the money travelled". Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  26. 1 2 3 Alam Srinivas (12 September 2015). "Peter Mukerjea: Catch a falling star". Tehelka Magazine. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  27. ↑ Aminah Sheikh (12 September 2008). "INX to mop up Rs 600 cr, plans 10 new channels". Business Standard. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  28. ↑ "NaiDunia, Pocha buy NewsX". indiantelevision.org.in. 9 January 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  29. ↑ Dhaleta Surender Kumar; Sapna Nair (12 January 2009). "NewsX sale part of a larger INX plan". afaqs!. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  30. ↑ "9XM Media and its band of music channels". TelevisionPost. 30 August 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  31. ↑ Ajita Shashidhar (2 March 2014). "9X: Hitting a High Note". Business Today. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  32. ↑ Sruthijith KK (2 February 2009). "Cash Crunch At INX Media: Outstandings To Producers Mount". Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  33. ↑ Madhav A Chanchani (11 March 2009). "Indrani and Peter Mukerjea Quit Management Positions At INX Media". VCCircle.com. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  34. ↑ Boby Kurian; Shrija Agrawal (9 April 2010). "New Silk Route Eyes Buyout Of PE Investors In INX Media". VCCircle.com. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  35. ↑ N Sundaresha Subramanian (28 August 2015). "Indrani quit most of her companies by mid-2011". Business Standard. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  36. ↑ "50 Women to Watch". The Wall Street Journal. 7 November 2008. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  37. ↑ "Indrani Mukerjea awarded the prestigious 'Uttar Ratna' award". INX Media Press Release. afaqs!. 7 November 2008. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  38. ↑ "9X Founder Indrani Mukerjea No Stranger To Controversies". Focus News. 26 August 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  39. ↑ "Peter Mukherjea, Vir Sanghvi declare truce". Business Standard. 23 January 2008. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  40. ↑ Sruthijith KK (23 January 2008). "Changes likely at top level in INX News". Live Mint. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  41. ↑ "Vir Sanghvi quits Mukerjea's NewsX as CEO". Business of Cinema. 29 January 2008. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  42. 1 2 "Vir Sanghvi quits NewsX". rediff.com. 29 January 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  43. ↑ "Drama at NewsX". Press Talk. 1 February 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  44. ↑ "Trouble at News X". The Hoot. 2 February 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  45. ↑ Vikram Chaudhary (1 February 2008). "NewsX launch in limbo as six more editorial heads quit". Financial Express. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  46. ↑ "Why are we going to this man?". The Hoot. 2 February 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  47. ↑ "Dasmunsi weighs in to NewsX fracas". Indiantelevision.com. 1 February 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  48. ↑ Anubhuti Vishnoi (1 February 2008). "Newsroom war reaches Ministry". Financial Express. Archived from the original on 13 February 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  49. ↑ Abhijeet Mukherjee (2 February 2008). "Dasmunsi asks Finance Ministry to probe source of funding for INX; meanwhile, Executive Editor Avirook Sen sacked". exchange4media. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  50. ↑ Rachit Vats (2 February 2008). "INX finds itself mired in controversy". afaqs!. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  51. 1 2 Rahul Kanwal (29 August 2015). "Indrani and others caused deliberate loss of Rs 168 crore to NEWS X". India Today. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  52. ↑ "Avirook Sen, Rajesh Sundaram send legal notices to INX News over "fraudulent termination" of employment". exchange4media News Service. exchange4media. 18 February 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  53. ↑ Avirook Sen (16 October 2010). "My Settlement with NewsX". OPEN magazine. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  54. ↑ Nivedita Mookerji (19 April 2008). "Buzz of investors pulling out rubbish". Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  55. 1 2 Meetu Jain (7 September 2015). "Muddy Waters Flow Through This Channel: SFIO investigates the many levels of fraud the Mukerjeas committed in NewsX". Outlook India. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  56. ↑ Paranjoy Guha Thakurta (12 November 2013). "A 'sham' transaction?". The Hoot. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  57. ↑ Khushboo Narayan (8 September 2015). "ED probes INX Media for 'forex violations'". Indian Express. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  58. ↑ Shrimi Choudhary (17 September 2015). "Sheena Bora murder: ED may reopen probe into Mukerjeas' money dealings". Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  59. ↑ Sharad Vyas (9 December 2015). "Indrani, Peter laundered Rs. 275 crore: CBDT report". The Hindu. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  60. ↑ Sai Manish (3 September 2015). "Peter Mukerjea used Indrani as a money funnel". Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  61. ↑ Avarnita Mathur (22 September 2015). "ED to begin reinvestigation of INX deal under money laundering act". India Today. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  62. ↑ "Sheena Bora murder case: Peter Mukerjea ready to divorce Indrani".
  63. ↑ "TV top gun's wife held in murder case". The Telegraph. 26 August 2015. Archived from the original on 30 August 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  64. ↑ Vijay Kumar Yadav (22 September 2015). "Indrani, held for Sheena Bora's murder, to live with 27 undertrials in Mumbai prison". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  65. ↑ "Sheena Bora Murder Case: Indrani Mukerjea's Jail Diaries". Mid-Day. NDTV. 7 December 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  66. ↑ "CBI Takes Over Probe Into Sheena Bora Murder Case". Indo-Asian News Service. NDTV. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  67. ↑ Ahmed Ali (25 August 2015). "TV honcho Peter Mukerjea's wife Indrani arrested on murder charges by Mumbai Police". Times of India. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  68. ↑ Gautam S Mengle; Rahi Gaikwad; Devesh Pandey (19 November 2015). "CBI arrests Peter Mukherjea, chargesheets Indrani". The Hindu. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  69. ↑ "Peter, Indrani Mukerjea Siphoned Off Funds From 9X Media: CBI". Press Trust of India. NDTV. 27 November 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  70. ↑ "Sheena Bora murder case- Peter, Indrani siphoned off funds from INX deal: CBI". Express News Service. Indian Express. 24 December 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  71. ↑ Ruchika Shah (7 October 2015). "Was it a Rs 1,000-crore secret that Indrani Mukerjea wanted to take to her grave?". Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  72. ↑ "Whether funds parked in Sheena Bora's overseas account led to her murder?". Press Trust of India. Economic Times. 27 November 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  73. ↑ Vidya (21 May 2022). "Indrani Mukerjea, accused of daughter's murder, back at posh Worli home after 6 years in jail". indiatoday.in. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  74. ↑ Swati Deshpande (18 May 2022). "Supreme Court grants bail to Indrani Mukerjea in Sheena Bora murder case". indiatimes.com. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  75. ↑ Express News Service (21 May 2022). "Indrani Mukerjea walks out of Byculla prison". indianexpress.com. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
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