The investigation into Sheena Bora’s disappearance reached a critical stage on 25 August 2015, when the Mumbai Police arrested Indrani Mukerjea on allegations of murdering her daughter. She was charged under several provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including murder, kidnapping, destruction of evidence, and acts committed with a common intention. Following her arrest, she was produced before the Bandra Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court and remanded to police custody.

The investigation expanded further on 26 August 2015, when Sanjeev Khanna, Indrani’s former husband, was arrested in Kolkata. He was charged with kidnapping, murder, destruction of evidence, and criminal conspiracy. According to investigative reports, Khanna allegedly admitted his involvement during the course of the investigation.

On 19 November 2015, Peter Mukerjea was also arrested in connection with the case. Investigators alleged that he had prior knowledge of certain aspects of the incident and additionally examined financial transactions involving funds that had reportedly been transferred to a bank account in Sheena Bora’s name in Singapore.

One of the most significant developments in the investigation was the recovery of partially burned human remains from a forested area in Raigad district. The recovery was made after driver Shyamvar Rai reportedly guided investigators to the location where the body had allegedly been disposed of.

During the forensic examination, investigators recovered charred skeletal remains, including fragments of bone, a skull, and teeth. However, the condition of the remains presented considerable challenges for forensic scientists. DNA extraction from the recovered teeth was unsuccessful because of extensive heat damage. Nevertheless, experts were able to isolate genetic material from a fragment of the femur.

In September 2015, forensic DNA analysis revealed that the femur sample closely matched the DNA profile of Indrani Mukerjea, indicating that the remains belonged to her biological child, Sheena Bora. However, the investigation encountered another complication when additional biological samples collected in 2012 failed to produce matching results. Reports suggested that some of the original evidence might have been misplaced or incorrectly preserved, raising concerns regarding the handling and integrity of the evidence collected during the early stages of the investigation.

The case continued to progress through the judicial system for several years. In 2022, the Bombay High Court granted bail to Indrani Mukerjea after she had spent more than six years in custody as an undertrial prisoner. The Court observed that a substantial number of prosecution witnesses had yet to be examined and noted that there was no indication that the trial would conclude in the near future.

In 2023, Indrani Mukerjea published a memoir titled Unbroken, in which she presented her personal account of the events surrounding the case.

Another important development occurred in July 2024, when the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) informed the court that Sheena Bora’s remains had been identified and recovered, adding another significant chapter to one of India’s most widely discussed criminal investigations.

From a forensic perspective, the Sheena Bora case highlighted several critical issues, including the importance of preserving biological evidence, the challenges associated with identifying severely burned human remains, the role of DNA profiling in victim identification, and the impact of evidence management on the outcome of a criminal investigation.