Times of India
MUMBAI, Jun 2: Kannada actress Maria Monica Susairaj, co-accused in the murder of Neeraj Grover, not only misled Malad cops but also her kin and friends, who came along with her to the Malad police station to lodge a missing complaint.
On May 7, Susairaj’s boyfriend Jerome Emile Mathew killed Grover in fit of rage after he found the latter lying naked at Susairaj’s flat in Malad. Later, Mathew and Susairaj chopped Grover’s body into several pieces, packed it into three handbags, took it to the jungles in Manor and burnt it. After disposing off Grover’s body, Mathew, a naval officer posted at Kochi, left the next day on May 8. Meanwhile, Susairaj called a few of her close friends and asked them to accompany her to the Malad police station to lodge the missing complaint. Sources said when she was reporting the missing complaint, Mathew was constantly guiding her on the cellphone.
On May 9, Susairaj phoned her brother, Richard and sister Veronica in Mysore, and told them that she was depressed as her best friend Grover had gone missing. "Richard and Veronica told her not to worry as they would be there soon," said joint CP (crime) Rakesh Maria.
On May 11, Richard and Veronica arrived and stayed with Susairaj in her flat. They gave her moral support. She also told her brother that Grover was to give her a big break in an upcoming television serial.
Richard believed her and on May 12, he accompanied her to meet Rakesh Maria at his office in Crawford Market. But Maria who is experienced in dealing with criminals realised there was something fishy. He immediately told Susairaj that she was his first suspect as she was the last person with whom Grover was seen.
"What is surprising is the fact that she kept fooling her friends and kin until we cracked the case on May 17," said Maria. Meanwhile, in a fresh development in the case, Mathew told senior inspector Ashok Borkar on Friday that he was so deeply and seriously in love with Susairaj that, on her instance, he recently broke off ties with his former girlfriend in Bangalore. He said that in October, last year, Susairaj had found out about his ex-girlfriend after which she confronted him. She told him that if he wanted to get married to her, he should leave his ex.