Sheena Bora murder case and other bloody trail of India’s high and mighty

For Indians, who are always hungry for some bloody drama, the high profile murders make for a delectable watch. Hence, it was little surprising when the recent Sheena Bora murder case, which is still developing, was called a ‘prime time murder’ for a reason.

Crimes are what the audience trip on. We know that too well by now. It redeems the collective notion of Indians in karma theory they believe innately in. What goes around definitely comes around as well. And, when a rich man or woman commits a crime, they surreptitiously evoke the feelings of not-so-rich Indian middle class that watches the elite with a bit of suspicion and jealousy.

The case of Sheena Bora, the famed sister (allegedly daughter) of Indrani Mukerjea, who shot to fame years after her death, is a classic example of how India’s thirst is ravaging for sensational murders.

After all, aren’t we the same country that fuels our imagination with prime time soap operas that are conniving, filled with crime, and also have a fair share of those who stand by and suffer silently till someone rescues them. Our concept of god, as the saviour is pretty much the same.

Sheena’s story is still developing, in which a shocking dimension is getting added every day. The 24X7 coverage the news report is getting, doesn’t seem enough because the list of people involved is getting bigger by the day. The puzzle is so confusing that it is almost an unsolvable maze now.

Some of the high profile cases that have shook India have had an interesting mix of elite and middle class with the latter feeling helpless. In case of Jessica Lal, the case was a clear one.

Aarushi Talwar’s case was also something that media rode on for a long time. There was sex, gore and double murders in the upscale house of affluent dentist couple. In the absence of everything else, the parents were finally declared the murderers and put behind bars. They continue to languish there, while trying to work up a weak battle once a while. But, the battle has now shifted from middle class to the system that implicates them. The system is so corroded that it has almost become unreachable and inaccessible for the end users.

With Sheena, the case has gotten a lot murkier than all other. This is almost such a tragedy that even Greek tragedies that were written by greatest playwrights fall short of the dramatic equations this has created.

Never before did social media use a crime for comic relief. Today, when you open Facebook or Twitter, you only see the images of 24-year-old innocent Sheena, who was looking forward to a life with her technical stepbrother who was her lover, and a social climber in Indrani who seemed to have exploited her gender and looks to the last benefit, and a hapless Peter Mukerjea who claimed he didn’t know Sheena was Indrani’s daughter.

Wow! That was SOMETHING! Now, is this the same man who turned the fortune for Star Group in India? People, remember those days when Amitabh Bachchan resonated with his baritone voice on Kaun Banega Crorepati, a show that gave a fresh lease of life for both the actor and the channel!

Star till then was pretty much a western channel that was yet to mature with Indian content. Peter changed the fortune with a bouquet of programmes. At a time when Star was at its best, it had top 44 shows on the list of a 100 most popular shows in India. This was the calibre of the man, who is now stuck in a marriage and a murder that does not seem to be easy to solve.

Indrani is a challenge to India’s social conscience. A small town girl from Guwahati, who was called Pori in her childhood turned out to be the best social climber ever. There are hardly any journalists and media persons who have NOT tweeted or written about this crime after she was picked up by Mumbai police for interrogation two weeks ago.

Since then, the crime has remained the same with dimensions getting wider and wider. Indrani not only managed to rope in her former husband from whom she had another daughter whom she publicly acknowledges, but mercilessly played a role in ending the life of her own daughter from an alleged live-in relationship that didn’t turn into a marriage. A son from the same relationship escaped the jaws of death because of his presence of mind.

This is some crime that will rankle the ears of India for a long time to come.

(Image: Indiatimes)