Feature
Sheena murder: With counter-claims, motive shrouded in mystery
Mumbai: With claims and counter-claims and new leads emerging in the investigation, the exact motive behind the Sheena Bora murder case remains shrouded in confusion, as investigators continued to probe different angles here on Saturday.
According to police, the death threats apprehended by Sheena’s brother Mikhail Bora were genuine and he was in Mumbai around April 24, 2012 when his sister was killed.
Since the arrest on August 25 of Mikhail’s mother Indrani Mukherjea, wife of former media tycoon Peter Mukherjea, Mikhail has repeatedly claimed that his life was threatened and alleged that his mother had plotted to eliminate him like Sheena.
Living up to his claims, he provided some evidences to the investigators, which Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria said were being verified.
The mystery of Sheena’s passpost recovered from the Dehradun home of her ex-boyfriend Rahul Mukherjea has been compounded with a new twist.
Officials said Rahul had confronted Indrani about the passport but was informed that Sheena had acquired a new passport and left for the US to pursue studies.
Early next week, police intend to recreate the entire crime scene — from a spot near the National College in Bandra’s Linking Road to Raigad and back to Mumbai airport — that took place on April 24, 2012, when Sheena was murdered, allegedly by Indrani, her ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna and her driver Shyam Rai.
Now, police are pinning hopes on the outcome of the forensic and DNA test reports of the victim and the accused which are expected by next week.
Earlier on Saturday, in a startling development, Raigad police admitted that no case was registered by them after the remains suspected to be of Sheena Bora were found from the murder site in forests near Pen in 2012.
Raigad Superintendent of Police Mohammed Suvez Haque told media persons that he was conducting an inquiry into the lapse and other aspects.
Shockingly, however, he said that no crime offence, an accidental death report or a first information report (FIR) was lodged by the concerned police officials then.
On May 23, 2012, a local mango-seller had noticed a partially burnt human carcass and had informed the Pen police outpost.
A team of police officials and a doctor had visited the site and conducted a spot autopsy and collected samples of some portions of the body remnants.
“These were later sent to Sir J.J. Hospital in Mumbai for further analysis after a couple of days. Later, no report was received and no report was sought by police about that,” Haque said.
Police had carried out a ‘panchnama’ (initial observation) of the body and the inquest at the murder site, recorded statements of witnesses and made a diary entry, but no other subsequent procedures were followed.
“I am now inquiring why police (then) did not lodge any offence or ADR (accidental death report) which shall be completed soon and submitted to the seniors,” Haque said, adding that he has already submitted a preliminary report to the inspector general of police (Konkan Range).
Responding to Mumbai police’s request for help, he said Raigad police have also provided all original documents pertaining to the case to them.
On Friday, the Sir J.J. Hospital authorities had handed over the samples of bones, nails and other evidence in its possession to Mumbai police, which have been sent for DNA tests and forensic analysis to determine their identity.
The hospital also said it had filed a report in 2012 on how the samples received were charred beyond recognition and they could not identify them.
The development has now led to speculation whether this could be a goof-up or a meticulous cover-up operation, and the then police superintendent of Raigad and his team are under the police scanner for their alleged role and lapses in the matter.
Sheena was killed on April 24, 2012 and her remains were discovered near the Pen forests on May 23, 2012.
Her mother Indrani, her ex-husband Khanna and her driver Shyam Rai have been arrested in connection with the murder and are in police custody till August 31.
On Friday night, in a major breakthrough in the case, Khanna cracked down and confessed to his role and complicity in the crime.
Entertainment
Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.