Sheena Bora’s body identified three years after her mother told police she’d fled to the United States

SHEENA Bora was young, beautiful and intelligent. She had a good job and a place to live, so when she packed her things, quit her job and fled to America, naturally there were a few raised eyebrows.

It was July 2012 when Ms Bora, then 22, sent a letter to her landlord in Mumbai breaking her lease. She penned an equally-surprising resignation letter to her boss at transport operator Mumbai Metro One, where she was an assistant manager. She didn"t even say goodbye to family and friends — she just upped and left.

From the US, Ms Bora sent text messages explaining that she"d moved there to start over. She remained active on social media, updating her LinkedIn profile regularly and posting photographs on Facebook.

But it was all smoke and mirrors, an elaborate rouse to cover up the unthinkable.

It has now been revealed the young woman with so much to live for never actually left India in the first place.

Ms Bora"s body was found but, stuffed inside a suitcase and buried in a forest 84km from Mumbai. Police say she"d been there since 2012.

Investigators allege that for three years, the people responsible for her gruesome murder were impersonating her online, maintaining the charade that she was living it up in America. The most disturbing part? Her family is accused of masterminding the entire twisted plot.

The lush green forest in Raigad is where Sheena Bora"s body was buried. Source: AFP

‘I"M DUMBSTRUCK ... I"VE BEEN KEPT IN THE DARK"

Police in Mumbai say they know who did it, but as the bizarre case that has captivated India unfolds, it is becoming increasingly more complex.

Last week they arrested former HR consultant and TV executive Indrani Mukerjea, 43, accusing her of murder. Ms Mukerjea is married to another high-flying TV boss Peter Mukerjea, but before the pair met she lived a very different life. She had a daughter and a son to a previous marriage. Her daughter is Ms Bora, but for years she claimed Ms Bora was her sister.

Police say Ms Mukerjea not only knew her daughter had been murdered all along, but that she actually planned it.

The Times of India reports Ms Mukerjea paid her driver, Sanjeev Khanna, to carry out the grisly killing. After confessing to police, Mr Khanna — who is also Ms Bora"s stepfather — took them to the jungle in Raigad where digging uncovered the buried suitcase and the body tucked inside.

The Indian Express reports police traced social media messages purporting to show Ms Bora alive and well to an IP address used by Ms Mukerjea.

Former Indian media exec Indrani Mukherjea is taken into a police station. AFP PHOTO Source: AFP

"For more than a year, Indrani had impersonated her daughter,” an officer told the paper.

"We have the messages that she has exchanged with various people. If Indrani kept claiming that her daughter was in the US, we now have digital evidence to prove that the location of most of the Facebook messages were Mumbai and also the UK.”

So complex are the allegations and counter claims by Ms Mukerjea"s that several media outlets in India began last week using detailed family trees to illustrate how the pieces of the puzzle fit together.

She is not the only family member implicated. Her other son Mikhail — Sheena"s brother — is accused of helping her conceal the murder and sending messages from Ms Bora"s social media accounts.

Ms Mukerjea"s husband Peter, who is not accused of any involvement in the murder or the elaborate cover-up, told reporters he was "dumbstruck” when he leaed of his wife"s alleged crimes.

"I feel like I have been kept in the dark about major parts of my marriage for 15 years,” he said

Ms Mukerjea is accused of murdering her daughter and impersonating her online. Source: Supplied

WHO WAS THE SECOND SUITCASE FOR?

Mr Mukerjea and his wife lived a life of riches afforded by his role with the Star TV network in India. The pair lived in different parts of the world at different times of the year — Spain, Mumbai and Bristol in the UK.

According to The Telegraph, neighbours who live next door to the couple"s $750,000 Bristol apartment said they "kept to themselves”.

"They invited me over for a party once,” a neighbour said. "It was for all the neighbours to get to know them. (Ms Mukerjea) was very sweet and innocent looking. I"m shocked at this. They used to give me a Christmas card every year.

"I think there were living at the property in 2012, so I don"t know how she did it. They are very friendly.”

Part of the case against Ms Mukerjea will be the testimony of witnesses, including a shopkeeper who claims Ms Bora"s mother paid a "big tip” when she purchased two large suitcases in 2012.

The Times of India reports Ms Mukerjea bought the two suitcases, one for Ms Bora and the other for somebody else. Ms Bora"s brother Mikhail claims it was for his body, but he escaped when his mother tried to kill him, too.

"Mikhail on Friday made some sensational revelations to Mumbai Police,” the Times reported.

"He claimed Indrani had tried to kill him on the same day — April 24, 2012 — that she murdered Sheena. She had called him to her Mumbai home and spiked his drink, but he fled just in time.”

The case is continuing. Police have seized the vehicle they say was used to transport Ms Bora"s body to its final resting place, Mr Khanna"s laptop and the second suitcase found at Ms Mukerjea"s residence.

Mikhail Bora claims he escaped his mother"s clutches but was forced to help cover up his sister Sheena"s disappearance. Source: AFP