MUMBAI • One of India's leading media magnates has been formally charged with murder over the death of his stepdaughter, an investigating officer said, the latest development in a case gripping the country.

Peter Mukerjea, a former chief executive of media behemoth Star India, has also been charged with abduction, destruction of evidence and giving false information in the death of Ms Sheena Bora, an official with India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said yesterday on condition of anonymity.

Ms Bora, 22, was the daughter of Mukerjea's wife Indrani from a previous relationship.

She was murdered in April 2012 and her burnt body was discovered the following month in woods in the western state of Maharashtra, of which Mumbai is the capital.

Indrani Mukerjea was arrested in August on suspicion of murdering the young woman, who was having an affair with Peter Mukerjea's son from an earlier marriage.

Last November, the CBI formally charged Indrani, her driver Shyam Rai and former husband Sanjeev Khanna with murder, abduction and destruction of evidence, among other offences.

The CBI also arrested Peter Mukerjea last November, and on Tuesday formally charged him after several months of questioning, according to a statement on its website.

Peter Mukerjea was believed to be out of the country on the day of the murder, but the CBI alleges he was actively involved in the conspiracy."Even when he was abroad he was in constant touch with Indrani," the unnamed official said.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE