Former media baron Peter Mukerjea on Friday walked out of the Arthur Road prison in Mumbai four years after he was arrested in connection with the Sheena Bora murder case.
The release came after the six-week stay on the Bombay High Court order granting the former media baron bail in the murder case ended on Thursday with the CBI not moving an appeal before the Supreme Court.
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While granting him bail on February 6 after finding that there was no prima facie evidence to prove his involvement in the sensational case, the Bombay High Court had stayed its order by six weeks to enable the Central Bureau of Investigation to file an appeal in the Supreme Court.
The CBI, which had arrested him on November 19, 2015, did not challenge the High Court order, paving the way for Mukerjea’s release today on a conditional bail and he stepped out of Arthur Road Central Jail after the six-week stay ended.
Among the conditions, he was ordered to pay a bail amount of Rs 200,000, not to leave the country without the court’s permission, nor contact his son, daughter or any other witnesses while out on bail or seek any adjournments in the case.
He was among the prime accused in the murder conspiracy of his 24-year old step-daughter, Sheena Bora, on April 24, 2012, and later her semi-burnt body was dumped in the forests in Raigad district.
It came to light after Mukerjea’s ex-wife, Indrani Mukerjea’s driver Shyamwar Rai was arrested in an illegal arms case and spilled the beans during interrogation in August 2015.
The other accused are Indrani Mukerjea, her former husband Sanjeev Khanna, besides Rai, who was pardoned after he turned an approver in June 2016.