Maria, Jerome convicted in Grover murder case

Agencies

Mumbai, 30 June 2011: Kannada actress Maria Susairaj along with her boyfriend and former naval officer Emile Jerome have been convicted in the brutal murder of Neeraj Grover, a senior TV executive, by a Mumbai sessions court on Thursday.

 

Maria Susairaj has been convicted for destruction of evidence under Indian Penal Code Section 201 in the Grover murder case while Jerome has been convicted for culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304 (Part 1). However, the prosecution failed to prove intent to murder for Jerome.

 

Sessions court judge MW Chandwani said that the intention to kill could not be proven in the court.

 

As the maximum sentence for destruction of evidence is three years so Maria might walk free when the sentence in pronounced on Friday as she has been in jail for three years.

 

Public Prosecutor RV Kini and Grover’s relatives expressed their unhappiness with the conviction and said that they would appeal against the verdict. They have been demanding the death penalty for the duo.

 

 

"We are shocked with the verdict. The maximum punishment for Maria could be three years. We will appeal against the judgement. The quantum of sentence will be declared tomorrow," said Kini.

 

"I have lost my faith in judiciary. It is a very disappointing decision. If Maria did not murder him, then where is my son?" asked Amarnath Grover, father of Neeraj Grover.

 

Grover was killed and his body chopped into several pieces before its was disposed off in the jungles on the outskirts of Mumbai.

Grover was the creative head of Synergy Adlabs. Police say he was helping Maria who was an aspiring TV actor but their proximity upset Jerome.

 

Grover found murdered in 2008.  He  was stabbed, his body hacked and disposed off near Manor jungles near Mumbai on May 7, 2008.

 

The prosecution in the case said that Jerome and Maria planned to kill Grover after he promised her a break but failed to do so.

 

The police filed a chargesheet against the two accused on May 14, 2008. They were arrested on May 21 after which Maria lead the police to Grover’s body.

 

Maria’s confession on May 30, 2008 corroborated the police’s version of the murder. On September 16, 2008 the court had rejected Maria’s bail plea in the case.

 

In September 2009, there was a twist in the case when Maria’s lawyers were accused of threatening the witnesses and forcing them to turn hostile.

 

Another turn of events took place on 10 May, 2010, when Maria’s family members claimed she didn’t even know Grover.