Indrani Mukerjea dances at Khushwant Singh Lit Fest, organisers face flak

Organisers of the Khushwant Singh Literary Festival are facing flak for platforming Indrani Mukerjea at the event. Indrani Mukerjea, an accused in the murder of her daughter Sheena Bora, delivered a controversial dance performance at the literary festival in Kasauli on Friday evening. She was also a panellist at the last edition of the lit fest.
However, organisers of the festival are facing criticism from a section of the internet for giving a platform to Indrani Mukerjea. The critics say her recent interest in dance a PR makeover after spending years in jail.
“Seeing Indrani Mukerjea perform and be legitimised at a Lit Fest, that too one named after Khushwant Singh, makes me sick to the pit of my stomach,” wrote Joy Bhattacharjya on the social media platform X.

Several people in the comments section agreed with this assessment. Many asked why a murder-accused is being invited to high-profile events and called it an image whitewashing exercise.
“It’s disheartening to see someone like Indrani Mukerjea being celebrated at a Lit Fest named after Khushwant Singh, whose legacy stands for integrity and honesty. This sends the wrong message about accountability and justice. We should be elevating voices that inspire and uplift, not those that embody controversy and scandal,” wrote Vikash Chauhan.
“The Indian society is conditioned to worship the rich, not good or bad. She is rich, hence can get away with murder, release her Netflix Shows and what not,” another X user named Rajat opined, referring to the Netflix docu-series “The Indrani Mukerjea Story: Buried Truth” which claims to delve into the disappearance of 25-year-old Sheena Bora in 2012.
“Definitely sickening. I refused to watch her Netflix show but many did and recommended it to others,” a user said.
Another asked: “How are we mainstreaming and legitimising her? Has everyone lost all moral judgement?”
Indrani Mukerjea is a former Indian media executive who gained notoriety for her alleged involvement in the murder of her daughter Sheena Bora in 2012. The case came to light in 2015 when Indrani, along with her ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna and driver Shyamvar Rai, was arrested and charged with the murder. In addition to murder, she was also charged with conspiracy, kidnapping, giving false information, and destroying evidence and spent several years in jail.
Indrani Mukerjea was granted bail by the Supreme Court on May 18, 2022. Mukerjea, who holds a British citizenship, was also granted permission to travel abroad earlier this year.
(Also read: Indrani Mukerjea dances to Har Har Shambhu Shiv Mahadeva, says ‘never learnt Indian classical dance’)