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Widow of falsely accused murder suspect plans to sue Scottish authorities
Timeline tracing the decades-long case: Tracey Wilde's 1997 Glasgow murder, Sougat Mukherjee’s ensuing legal ordeal and exoneration in 2019, his death in 2023, and his widow's 2026 bid to sue Scottish authorities.
Why It Matters
Highlights how a wrongful accusation affected a family across borders and the ongoing push for accountability and redress from authorities in Scotland and India.
Timeline
11 Events
Sapna Mukherjee appeals to Indian PM Modi to back bid to sue Scottish authorities
May 5, 2026
Sapna Mukherjee, Sougat's widow, urged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to back her family's bid to sue Police Scotland and the COPFS for compensation and a formal inquiry.
Sougat Mukherjee dies in Mumbai
January 17, 2023
Sougat Mukherjee died on 17 January 2023 from acute liver cirrhosis.
Sougat Mukherjee exonerated by India's MEA
May 1, 2019
On 1 May 2019, Sougat Mukherjee was officially exonerated by India's Ministry of External Affairs.
Zhi Min Chen admits the Glasgow murder
April 2019
Chinese-born Zhi Min Chen admitted the crime in April 2019 and was later jailed for at least 20 years.
Google alert reveals arrest in Glasgow case
June 2018
In the summer of 2018, Sougat Mukherjee learned via a Google news notification that there had been an arrest in Glasgow related to the case.
Sougat Mukherjee named a murder suspect; pictured in Sunday Mail
February 2015
In February 2015, Sougat Mukherjee was named as a suspect and pictured in a report in the Sunday Mail newspaper.
Sougat Mukherjee arrested in Mumbai
January 2015
Sougat Mukherjee was arrested in January 2015 and held in Mumbai Prison for three weeks.
Indian police inform Sougat Mukherjee he is a Glasgow murder suspect
2014
In autumn 2014, local police in India informed Sougat Mukherjee that he was a suspect in an unsolved murder in Glasgow.
Sougat Mukherjee drops out of college and returns to India
February 1998
Three months after Tracey Wilde's murder, Sougat Mukherjee dropped out of Glasgow Nautical College and returned to India.
Tracey Wilde murdered in Glasgow
November 24, 1997
Tracey Wilde, a 21-year-old mother of one, was choked to death at her flat in Barmulloch, Glasgow. Her body was discovered the following day.
Sougat Mukherjee arrives in Scotland as a student
1996
Sougat Mukherjee arrived in Scotland in autumn 1996 and studied at Glasgow Nautical College (now City of Glasgow College).