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Gulf Times
Thursday, September 3, 2015

COMMENT
Chairman: Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Attiyah
Editor-in-Chief : Darwish S Ahmed
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GULF TIMES
When children
wash up dead
on strange shores
A young migrant was pictured on a Turkish beach
yesterday. Barely over a year old, he was dressed
smartly in a red T-shirt and blue shorts, his hair
appearing neatly combed and his face, lapped by gentle
waves, partially buried in the sand.
In happier times it could have made for a good
portrait of a toddler enjoying himself during a family
beach picnic. Unfortunately, we live in a sick, cruel
world where even small, helpless children wash up on
strange shores dead.
A Turkish police officer, his face sombre at the grim
discovery, cradled the young child who would be no
doubt buried in an unmarked grave. He was probably
from Syria, the nameless victim of a shipwreck, which
killed several others.
The pictures coming out of Europe where tens of
thousands of hapless migrants have arrived thanks to
the merciless wars in Syria, not to speak of the violent
unrest in places like Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan, are,
plainly put, a blot on humanity.
Europe, most of which was founded on the basis
of democracy, human rights and fair play, has been
overwhelmed by the magnitude of the crisis. For weeks
it appeared unsure about how to deal with the situation
before Germany, Greece and Italy nally signed a joint
declaration yesterday calling for a fair distribution of
migrants in the European Union.
Anti-immigrant
sentiment in Europe is
rife. Partially fuelled by
the nancial crisis that
has hit several countries
in the continent,
there is a feeling that
accommodating
hundreds of thousands of new immigrants would result
in the eroding of European values besides leading to
further economic problems.
But the sheer scale of the unfolding tragedy seems to
have moved many previously xenophobic inhabitants
of the continent to adopt a more sympathetic attitude,
especially after the discovery of a refrigerated van with
about 75 dead refugees on an Austrian highway a few
days ago.
Thousands of Austrians held welcome placards
outside a Vienna railway station a couple of days ago
saying they would be happy to see the refugees settled
among them. In a small German town, people have
opened their houses to the Syrians.
Yesterday, members of the World Cup winning
German football team condemned xenophobic attacks
on the refugees. Led by captain Bastian Schweinsteiger,
a group of players appeared in a video holding up signs
condemning violence and calling for respect, help,
integration and fairplay towards any refugee
arriving in Germany.
Europes biggest economy this year expects a record
800,000 asylum applications, more than any other EU
country. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has
emerged as the go-to person for virtually any calamity
hitting Europe, has been named Mama Merkel by the
migrants. Lashing out at xenophobic Germans, Merkel
said Germany would have no tolerance for shameful
and vile violence against refugees.
Tragically, the cash-rich Gulf countries have not yet
issued a collective statement on the crisis much less
come up with a strategy to help the migrants who are
overwhelmingly Muslim. Turkey has taken in more
than 2.5mn Syrian refugees, while not-so-well-off
Lebanon is also hosting hundreds of thousands. In this
part of the world, however, the silence is deafening.

The ongoing
refugee crisis
is a blot on
humanity

Indian police are surrounded by media as they escort Indrani Mukherjea from a city court in Mumbai.

Mumbai crime drama

grips Indian media
A former media executive
married to a retired TV
tycoon is at the centre of
this drama of all dramas
that is unfolding with so
many twists and turns by
the day
By Updesh Kapur
Doha

ts a story that has

gripped India
murder, mystery,
suspense.
Add to it money and jealousy, one
can see all the hallmarks of a crime
novel, a movie and TV documentary in
the making.
Not since the horric fatal gang rape
of a 23-year-old medical student in
Delhi three years ago has India been so
absorbed by an incident.
A disjointed family sucked into a
media spectacle being at the forefront
of the news agenda for the past week.
The number of characters in this
saga continues to grow. And the media
is playing its part in a big way ensuring
every development is reported as
Breaking News.
A former media executive married
to a retired TV tycoon is at the centre
of this drama of all dramas that is
unfolding with so many twists and
turns by the day.
The story revolves round thricemarried Indrani Mukerjea, accused of
killing her daughter Sheena Bora in April
2012.
Arrested on August 24 at her
luxury home in Mumbai, Mukerjea is
alleged to have murdered Sheena, her
daughter from an earlier relationship,
with the help of ex-husband Sanjeev
Khanna and former driver Shyam Rai.
Police documents state that, according
to investigators, Sheena was strangled
in a rented car, then kept in a suitcase at
the Mukerjea residence overnight before
the corpse was dumped and set on re
in a forested area in Raigad 100km from
Mumbai. The motive is reported to have
been a nancial dispute.

Mumbai police commissioner Rakesh Maria: Its a very sensitive case and any
misinformation appearing in the print or electronic media will lead to acquittal of
the accused.
Denying the charges, Mukerjea told
police that her daughter was not dead,
but living in the US and was refusing
to come forward to reveal her identity
because of Sheenas hatred for her.
At the time of the incident,
Mukerjea is said to have told family
and friends that 25-year-old Sheena
was in fact her sister, not daughter,
and had decided to move to the US.
Remains of a body were recovered a
month after Sheenas disappearance
but district police decided to bury
them as they were unclaimed and the
case was deemed unsolved.
The lapse in the case surfaced a few
months ago following an anonymous
call to police claiming Sheena was
not in the US and had in fact been
murdered three years earlier by a
family member that resulted in an
investigation into Indrani Mukerjea.
Mukerjea, married since 2002 to
media executive Peter Mukerjea,
former CEO of the Star India TV
entertainment network, co-founded
broadcasting group INX Media with
her husband ve years later but quit
the company after just two years amid

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The spot where the mortal remains of Sheena Bora, the daughter of Indrani
Mukerjea, were found in the forest near Gagode village on Pen Khopoli road of
Raigad district in central Maharashtra state.

reports of nancial irregularities.

Sheena and her younger brother
Mikhael are said to have been brought
up by Indrani Mukerjeas parents in
northeast India.
But complications arose when
Sheena returned to Mumbai to live
with her mother and then fell in love
with her step-brother Rahul, Peter
Mukerjeas son.
Its now alleged that a nancial
dispute between mother and daughter
over a stake in INX is the reason
behind the killing.
Its also now emerged that the man
said to be her rst husband was in
fact a live-in lover who fathered both
Indranis children. Police have accused
Indrani of also trying to murder her
son Mikhael by summoning him home
and drugging him before he managed
to escape.
There are a lot of loose ends that
need to be pieced together. Why is
information coming out three years
after the disappearance of Sheena that
should easily have been reported at the
time of her going missing.
Sheenas passport was recovered by
ance Rahul Mukerjea soon after her
disappearance which wasnt probed
when she was said to have already
own to the US.
The real motive behind the killing
still remains a mystery. Information
coming out of this case continues to
captivate those following it.
The three co-accused have
undergone more than 100 hours of
interrogation.
The case of Sheena Boras last day
has been re-enacted with all three
accused taken to the site of the buried
remains on the fringes of Mumbai. The
remains have been dug up and taken
for DNA forensic tests.
They say one is innocent until
proven guilty. But what has been played
out across print and TV networks in
India has already spelled out a guilty

verdict against the main accused and

her accomplices. This case has been
reported from all angles with Indian
media continuing to pry for more.
Quoting source after source, lurid
details are being leaked and at times
openly revealed by the very people
supposed to uphold the law the police.
Mumbais police force has been
tasked with putting together the
pieces of this jigsaw having been failed
miserably by their colleagues in the
town of the crime scene three years
earlier. Raigad police themselves are
being investigated for negligence.
Mumbais guardians of law and
order are looking to wrap up this case
quickly to restore some level of public
condence in the authorities that are
often accused of lacking integrity and
effectiveness. Mumbais police need to
be at the top of their game.
This case further begs the question
how can the Indian legal system permit
reporting full of speculation and
innuendo. The Indian penal system,
based on the British legal system, has a
huge role to play to ensure fair, balanced
and accurate reporting to ensure an
unprejudiced trial.
It is blatantly clear that those
responsible for material coming out
of this case that has so far led to no
official charges, are the police.
Mumbai Police Commissioner
Rakesh Maria, who is supervising
the investigation, is now said to have
warned his officers not to divulge any
information to the media as it would
obstruct the course of justice.
Its a very sensitive case and any
misinformation appearing in the
print or electronic media will lead
to acquittal of the accused, he is
reported to have told his officers.
Once a few things are clear, I will
speak to the media, but if anything
is revealed earlier, I will see to it that
departmental action is taken against
those responsible.
Maria is incensed that the media has
taken such a pro-active stance, more
so than his officers.
Earlier this week, TV crews
managed to trace and interview
Siddhartha Das in Kolkata, the man
claiming to be Sheena Bora and
Mikhaels biological father. The police
had failed to nd him. The media also
managed to speak to Mikhael well
before the police questioned him.
With police custody of the three
accused extended until September 3, this
is a case that will for sure have more sordid
revelations over the next few days.
The Indian media, at least, will not
leave any stone unturned to get the
story and breaking news that they are
so renowned for.
And the race will be on for the rst
to come out with a movie and book
centred on this real-life gripping
crime drama.
zUpdesh Kapur is a PR &
communications professional,
columnist, aviation, hospitality,
travel analyst, and writer on sports
and Bollywood. He can be followed on
twitter @updeshkapur