Sheena Bora murder mystery: Tooth preserved at hospital a crucial link

Three years after she was murdered and her body burnt and buried, Mumbai police are still trying to find out who all were involved in the brutal murder of 23-year-old Sheena Bora. Those arrested are giving contradictory statements, but it will be a tooth preserved by Mumbai's JJ Hospital, which could reveal whether the body - which police claim to be Sheena's - is hers or not.

The police are now working on the Locard's principle. It states that no matter where a criminal goes or what a criminal does, by coming into contact with things, a criminal can leave all sorts of evidence.

Police are trying to prove Sheena's identity, find out how she was killed and what was the motive. But all they are armed with is the statement of the accused. Such statements taken under Section 161 of the CrPC have little value in court. The crucial point the police had to prove was corpus delecti - that it was Sheena's body that has been discovered. She died three years ago and until Friday, there was uncertainty that local police in Raigad had preserved Sheena's body samples. Until it is proved that the remnants are from her body, the case doesn't stand.

However, revelations made by JJ Hospital's dean Dr T. P. Lahane has strengthened the police's theory. He told Mail Today that they had preserved Sheena's tooth, burnt bones and hair strands. The samples were sent by Raigad police in 2012 to the hospital for ascertaining the sex of the murdered person and the cause of death, but it could not be linked to the case then.

Since her body was burnt, her bones and hair may have been burnt and forensic experts say they may not be useful in DNA test. But her tooth will form the basis of the DNA tests.

For this purpose, police will need Sheena's mother Indrani Mukerjea's saliva samples. This exercise will be a double-edged sword. If Indrani refuses to give samples, it goes against her and if she accepts, many other skeletons will tumble out of her closet.

Indrani, who has been arrested for playing a pivotal role in the killing, is being put to sustained interrogation by Mumbai police. She broke down when Mumbai Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria cornered her with a question -whether Sheena was her sister or daughter? She started singing like a canary and confessed to her involvement in the crime. Indrani, who was used to living a lavish life, is now being subjected to harsh realities of spending time in police custody. She placed a request before a court, seeking permission to have homemade food, but it was turned down.