QWrap: Sheena Killed for Personal Reasons; Sept 17 Meat Ban Stayed

Here’s a wrap of today’s top stories in under 90 seconds.

QWrap 14.09.15

1. Exclusive: Maria Was Under Pressure From State Ministers, SC Judge

Rakesh Maria was under pressure from several quarters to slow down. One of the persons who approached Maria, sources said, is a minister in West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s cabinet. Sources said Maria was shocked when he received a phone call from a sitting Supreme Court judge, requesting that he take it easy.

2. Exclusive: Sheena-Rahul Affair Cooked-up to Distract Investigators

In the days following the initial arrests, there was much reporting around the fact that Rahul, who is Peter Mukerjea’s son from a previous marriage, and Indrani Mukerjea’s daughter, Sheena, her daughter through a previous relationship, had a relationship.

But now, sources close to the investigation team say that the Rahul-Sheena relationship was made into more than it was, and that perhaps the duo was never really engaged.

3. Exclusive: Personal, Not Financial Reasons Behind Sheena’s Murder

Twenty days after Indrani Mukerjea, wife of former TV honcho Peter Mukerjea, was arrested for allegedly murdering her daughter Sheena Bora more than three years ago, the Mumbai Police have dug up considerable information that has led them to believe that a strong personal motive, more than a financial one, led to the killing.

4. High Court Stays Meat Ban on September 17 in Mumbai

The Bombay High Court has stayed the BMC’s ban on slaughter and sale of meat on September 17.

The Bombay Municipal Corporation had prohibited slaughter and sale of meat in Mumbai on September 10, 13, 17 and 18 on the occasion of the Jain festival Paryushan.

5. NDA Finalises Seat Sharing for Bihar Elections

After multiple meetings in the last few days, the BJP and its three regional allies arrived at a consensus on seat-sharing for the Bihar election this morning, and BJP President Amit Shah announced the division.

The BJP will contest 160 seats, Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Jan-shakti Party will contest 40 seats, Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Samata Party will contest for 23 seats and Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustan Awam Morcha will contest 20 out of 243 seats in Bihar.

6. Shielding Rape-Accused Diplomat Doesn’t Bode Well for Riyadh

The Saudi ambassador has flatly denied the charges against of raping two Nepali women who worked as his house help. The police have been unable to pursue charges against the accused diplomat as the embassy has invoked diplomatic immunity.

India is in a bind now. On one hand is its carefully nurtured relations with the Arab world, especially the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries of which Saudi Arabia is the leader. At the same time India shares a special relationship with neighbouring Nepal emanating from cultural and religious affinity.

7. Dear BJP, No One Tells Rajinikanth What To Do. Mind It!

According to reports, senior BJP leader L Ganesan has said that Rajinikanth should not act in a biopic on Tipu Sultan offered to him by the leading Kannada producer Ashok Kheny.

But the big point they are missing is that no one tells Rajinikanth what to do.

8. Novak Djokovic Wins US Open and Sania Mirza-Martina Hingis Win US Open Women’s Doubles

World number 1 Novak Djokovic has beaten Roger Federer 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 in the final of the US Open to bag his 10th Grand Slam title and second at Flushing Meadows.

India’s tennis star Sania Mirza bagged her second consecutive Grand Slam title of the season, and fifth overall, as she won the US Open women’s doubles with Swiss partner Martina Hingis in New York on Sunday.

9. Motorola Launches Moto X Play With 21MP Camera at Rs 18,499

After launching the Motorola Moto E 4G and Moto G 3rd Gen, the company finally launched its flagship smartphone in India – the Moto X Play. The phone’s starting price is Rs 18,499 for the 16GB version and will be exclusively available on Flipkart.