Daijiworld Media Network

Mumbai, Jun 30: Amarnath Grover, father of the murdered Neeraj Grover is highly disappointed with the court verdict against Susairaj and Jerome.

A few hours before the verdict, Amarnath Grover was praying for death sentence to the killers of his son Neeraj. He told one TV news channel that both Susairaj and Jerome must get death sentence for killing his son.

But when the verdict was out, Neeraj's parents looked shattered and could not control their emotions. "I have lost faith in the law of court. How can both of them be niether accused or guilty of murder? "

The key accused Maria Susairaj was convicted for destruction of evidence while her fiancee Emile Jerome was held guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

"We will surely appeal against this judegement," said Amarnath, who looked let down by the judgement.

Maria Susairaj is expected to get a maximum of three years in jail for the alleged crime, but as she has already served three years in jail, there are all possibilites that she may be let free on Friday July 1 when the quantum of sentence is announced.

Jerome is expected to be awarded atleast 10 years of imprisonment.

The story sofar:

• Maria retracted from her confession saying it was taken under duress
• In her confession she had accused Jerome of murdering Neeraj and threatening her to help destroy the evidence
• Jerome's defence was that Neeraj was murdered even before he entered the flat
• Police were able to gather crucial circumstantial evidence including the knife that was used to cut Neeraj's body
• The police also produced 48 witnesses
• The judge relied heavily on these and Maria's confession to deliver the final verdict
• But said prosecution failed to prove criminal conspiracy behind the murder

"Police said there was conspiracy behind the murder, but the prosecution couldn't prove any intention or motive," said Maria's lawyer Sharif Sheikh.