Widow Appeals to Indian PM to Support Legal Action Against Scottish Authorities
The widow of a businessman falsely accused of a 1997 murder has called on the Indian prime minister to support her family’s efforts to sue Scottish authorities.
Sougat Mukherjee died in Mumbai in 2023 at age 44, nearly four years after the actual perpetrator of the murder of Tracey Wilde was convicted in Glasgow.
Sougat’s wife, Sapna, stated that her husband’s life was "irreversibly destroyed" after being named a suspect and is now seeking compensation as well as an Indian government inquiry into the case.
Police Scotland declined to comment on ongoing legal matters. Scottish prosecutors previously affirmed that they carefully considered all reports of alleged criminal conduct submitted by police.
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) explained that action is taken only when sufficient evidence exists and that cases are continuously reviewed.
Sapna, 45, recounted that her husband had a thriving career until 2014 when he was informed he was wanted in connection with a murder case in Scotland.
Following this, the father of three endured a prolonged extradition battle that severely impacted his life.
Although Sougat was eventually cleared after a DNA breakthrough, his family maintain that he never recovered from the stigma attached to the accusation.
Sapna has now appealed directly to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to support their legal claim against Police Scotland and COPFS.
Speaking to BBC Scotland News, Sapna revealed that her husband suffered severe clinical depression due to being labelled a murder suspect.
He passed away on 17 January 2023 from acute liver cirrhosis.
"The world needs to know that an innocent man's life was completely and irreversibly destroyed, and that his family is still suffering the consequences today."
Who killed Tracey Wilde?
Tracey Wilde was 21 when she was strangled to death at her flat in Barmulloch, Glasgow, on 24 November 1997.
The body of the mother-of-one, who had been working as a prostitute, was discovered the next day.
At the time, Sougat was a 19-year-old student at Glasgow Nautical College, now known as City of Glasgow College.
He had arrived in Scotland in autumn 1996. Three months after Tracey’s death, Sougat left college and returned to India.
He married Sapna and enrolled in a new university course in Chennai.
Sougat then pursued a career in sales and business development, traveling extensively for work to countries including the US, United Arab Emirates, and Greece.
His life changed dramatically in October 2014 when local police in India informed him he was a suspect in the unsolved Glasgow murder.
He was arrested in January 2015 and detained in Mumbai Prison for three weeks.
The following month, he was publicly named as a suspect and featured in a Sunday Mail newspaper report.
CCTV images showing a man walking with his arm around Tracey were also published.
Sapna described how the accusation "broke him completely" and how she helplessly watched the man she loved "slowly slip away."
"He felt he had become a burden on our family, as I was the sole earning member supporting three growing children and his medical expenses throughout those five devastating years.
His parents exhausted every penny they had trying to save him physically and mentally from the tsunami of emotional trauma from a botched investigation."
How was the real killer caught?
In summer 2018, Sougat learned of an arrest through a Google news alert.
Zhi Min Chen had provided a DNA sample after being detained for an assault in Glasgow’s Cowcaddens area.
The DNA matched the forensic profile found at Tracey Wilde’s flat over 20 years earlier.
Chinese-born Chen, aged 44, admitted the crime in April 2019 and was sentenced to at least 20 years in prison.
The judge, Lord Arthurson, condemned the attack as "brutal, cowardly and murderous" on a vulnerable young woman in her home.
Outside the High Court in Glasgow, Tracey’s sister Bernadette McCash described the sentence as "a slap in the face."
"I don't feel it is enough time. As a family we are really disappointed in the sentence.
He ran for longer (than 20 years). He hid for longer."
Chen later appealed and his sentence was reduced to 16 years.
Sougat told BBC Scotland News in 2019 that the initial allegations "shocked me to the core."
He believed the case against him was based on his early departure from Glasgow and CCTV evidence, and said his family was "shattered" by the accusations.
He also expressed sympathy for Tracey Wilde’s loved ones and apologized for their loss.
On 1 May 2019, India’s Ministry of External Affairs officially exonerated Sougat.
The suspicion was lifted, but Sapna described the damage as "total and irreversible."
She has since written to the Indian prime minister to highlight their plight.
In the letter, seen by BBC Scotland News, Sapna, a sales manager, detailed the toll on their family, including children Sreshtha (21), Shlok (18), and Shreya (16).
"I write to you today with a broken heart, an empty home, and an urgent plea for justice, not only for my family but for every Indian citizen who may be wrongly targeted in a foreign criminal investigation without adequate diplomatic protection."
Sapna said Sougat was "branded a fugitive" and "became unemployable" after the accusations became public.
The family was "forced out" of their rented home as neighbors refused to live near an accused murderer, and their children faced ostracism and isolation.
Sapna explained that Sougat became financially dependent on his parents and in-laws, who exhausted their savings and considered selling their homes.
He developed an alcohol dependency and "descended into severe clinical depression, consumed by shame and hopelessness."
During this period, Sapna was the sole provider for the family.
"He died as he feared he would - having lost everything, through no fault of his own."
Sapna also questioned why it took four years to clear Sougat’s name when his DNA did not match the crime scene profile.
She has requested that the Indian government support their claim for financial compensation from Scottish authorities.
Sapna is also urging the Indian Ministry of External Affairs to conduct a formal inquiry into how Sougat was wrongly identified as a suspect.
"My husband was an innocent man," she said.
"He committed no crime. He harmed no-one. He co-operated with authorities. He trusted the system.
And the system killed him - slowly, painfully, and completely."
Police Scotland reiterated that it does not comment on legal proceedings.
The Crown Office stated it had no further comment beyond its 2019 statement, which emphasized that reports submitted by police were carefully considered.
"Action will be taken if the reports contain sufficient evidence of a crime and it is in the public interest to do so,"
"It is the duty of the Crown to keep cases under review and following full consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case, Crown Counsel instructed that there should be no further proceedings against Sougat Mukherjee."
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs has also been contacted for comment.
