By IANS,
Mumbai : The chargesheet in the murder of a television professional, whose body was chopped into over 300 pieces, allegedly by Kannada actress Maria Monika Susayraj and her lover M.L. Jerome Mathew, was filed Thursday in a court here by the police, an official said.
The investigations into the murder was launched following a missing complaint lodged by television executive Neeraj Grover’s parents May 7 this year, and Maria was arrested May 23.
The chargesheet, filed before the 37th Esplanade Court, runs into over 600 pages with statements of 10 witnesses and the names of 94 others, Maria’s lawyer Nitin Pradhan told IANS here Thursday evening.
“I have not been handed over a copy of the chargesheet yet, but this is what I have gathered from people in the know,” he said.
It also has the confessional statement by Maria before a magistrate, the police said.
The forensic report on the burnt remains of Grover’s body and a technical report, credit card transactions details and the vehicle used by Maria’s lover Mathew, a naval officer, to take the body and burn it were attached with the chargesheet.
Maria and Mathew have been charged under the Indian Penal Code sections 120(B), 34 C) and 302, dealing with, among other things, murder and a conspiracy to murder.
The police said that Maria had invited Grover, the creative head of Synergy AdLabs, a television production house, for help in shifting house in Malad, a northwest suburb.
Grover stayed over that night at the house. Later, Mathew called Maria from Cochin where he was posted and heard Grover’s voice.
Enraged, the next day – May 7 – Mathew took a flight to Mumbai, came to Maria’s flat and flew into a rage on seeing Grover there. He allegedly assaulted Grover with a kitchen knife till he succumbed to his injuries, while Maria watched.
Later, the duo planned to dispose of Grover’s body, for which a friend’s car was borrowed. They went to a nearby shopping mall and purchased some sports bags.
They chopped Grover’s body into over 300 pieces and packed it up in the sports bag before driving off into the dense forests near Manor, adjoining Thane district.
They doused the bags in petrol and burnt them. Maria broke down during sustained police interrogation.
The killing came to light after Maria answered Grover’s mobile when one of his friends called up a few days after the murder.
Maria shifted to Mumbai a few years ago after getting roles in teleserials. She hoped to make it big in Bollywood and had come in contact with Grover who had earlier worked with Balaji Telefilms.