DNA
Mumbai, Jun 1: Navy officer Emile Jerome Matthew, 25, accused of allegedly murdering 25-year-old Neeraj Grover, a creative head at Synergy Adlabs, made a startling revelation to the police on Saturday. He said that he had another girlfriend other than Kannada actress, Maria Monica Susayraj, but decided to choose Susayraj as his soul mate and trusted her wholeheartedly. That’s why when he saw Grover at Susayraj’s flat in Malad, he felt betrayed and allegedly killed Grover, the police said.
Matthew told the police that he had a 25-year-old girlfriend, who had also studied with him and Susayraj at St Matthias School in Mysore, and who is currently in Mysore. “Susayraj came to know about Matthew’s girlfriend a year ago, after which she confronted him. Matthew then stopped meeting the girl and instead continued the relationship with Susayraj. He was not in touch with his ex-girlfriend when the murder took place,” said joint commissioner of police (crime), Rakesh Maria.
According to a senior police official, Matthew told the police that he had given an assurance to Susayraj that would never meet the girl again hence, when he stepped into Susayraj’s house on May 7th and allegedly saw Grover naked in her bedroom, he lost his temper. He added that allegedly, after Grover saw Matthew, he looked at Susayraj and said, “Is this your boyfriend?” and laughed. This angered an agitated Matthew even further. “Matthew punched Grover on the chest, went into the kitchen, brought a knife and stabbed him. He then kicked Grover several times and stabbed him again, after which the latter died,” said the official.
Matthew, however, did not hold Susayraj responsible for her relationship with Grover and told the police that Grover was using Susayraj with no intentions of giving her roles in serials, the police said. “Matthew believed that Susayraj would also be loyal to him, but when he called Susayraj on the night of May 6th, he heard a male voice. He later learnt that Grover was staying with Susayraj,” said the official.
According to Maria, when Susayraj came to Mumbai in February this year, one of her female friends introduced her to a cameraman known as Ashish, who then introduced her to Grover, who was then working with Balaji Telefilms.
“Between March and April, Susayraj and Grover were in touch through phone calls and SMSes. When Susayraj came back to Mumbai in mid-April, Grover called her to arrange a meeting at a coffee shop in Oshiwara. Since she was new in the city and did not have proper accommodation, she also stayed with Grover at his house for at least three days,” said Maria. He added that both Susayraj and Matthew would be booked for murder in the case.
Grover was allegedly stabbed to death by Matthew inside Susayraj’s apartment in Malad (W) on May 7th