Meet actress who murdered her 26-year-old friend, TV executive, cut his body in 300 pieces, then...

The film industry is often seen as a glamorous and exciting world, but it can also be unpredictable and dangerous. This was tragically proven in 2008 when a brutal murder shocked the city of Mumbai.

The victim was 26-year-old television executive Neeraj Grover, who was murdered in May 2008. Kannada actress Maria Susairaj and her boyfriend, Lieutenant Emile Jerome Mathew, were arrested in connection with the crime.

26-year-old Neeraj Grover suddenly went missing one day while helping Kannada actress Maria Susairaj with moving. After that, no one saw him again. Hours passed, then days, and eventually weeks, but there was still no sign of Neeraj.

The police eventually traced Neeraj's location through a mobile network tower, and that one call revealed the horrifying details of the murder. The first arrest was that of actress Maria Susairaj, and as the investigation progressed, shocking revelations came to light that stunned everyone.

Neeraj was murdered, the killers had sex in front of his dead body and then a few hours later his body was cut into 300 pieces and dumped off.

Maria Monica Susairaj was born into a Christian family in Mysore. From a young age, she displayed a talent for singing and dancing. Her father worked at a construction firm, and her uncle was employed with the municipal corporation. Although Maria dreamt of becoming an actress and participated actively in her school's cultural programs, her family was opposed to the idea. Faced with pressure from her family to get married, Maria left her home in Mysore and moved to Bengaluru to pursue her dreams.

After landing some small roles, Maria Susairaj received her big break in Kannada cinema in 2002 with the film Jute, where she played the lead. While she was appreciated for her performance, the film ended up flopping at the box office.

Maria then started getting smaller roles in other films but aspired to make a name for herself not just in regional cinema, but across all of India. As work in Kannada cinema became scarce, she decided to move to Mumbai.

Maria often traveled to Mumbai for auditions, and it was during one of these visits that she met Neeraj Grover, who had strong connections in the city. In 2008, Neeraj was working with Ekta Kapoor’s renowned production house, Balaji Telefilms.

After meeting during the audition, Neeraj and Maria exchanged numbers and began talking frequently. Neeraj, eager to help, arranged an audition for Maria at Balaji Telefilms. She began visiting Mumbai often for these auditions, and over time, she and Neeraj grew closer. However, Maria was already in a long-distance relationship with Jerome Mathew, who lived in Mysore and was stationed in Pune with the Indian Army. They were also planning to get engaged.

Despite her relationship with Jerome, Maria, who dreamed of becoming a successful actress, didn't feel the need to mention it to Neeraj. As their friendship deepened, Maria decided to move to Mumbai. When she arrived, Neeraj offered her a place to stay in his home.

Months passed, but Maria still wasn't getting any work through Neeraj. He told his friends that her auditions were being rejected due to her Kannada accent. However, to spare Maria's feelings, he often came up with new excuses for not being able to get her work.

Meanwhile, whenever Maria spoke to her boyfriend, Jerome Mathew, and mentioned Neeraj, she would tell him that Neeraj loved her unilaterally and that she only considered him a friend. However, this was far from the truth.

After living with Neeraj for about a week, Maria decided to rent a flat at Dheeraj Solitaire Apartment in Malad, flat number 201. She moved out of Neeraj's place and into the new flat. After her move, Neeraj told his friends that he would help Maria with the shifting and left his house around 10 PM.

The next morning, Neeraj's friend called his phone, but it was Maria who answered. She informed his friend, Lal, that Neeraj had left the house at 1:30 AM and had left his phone at her flat. Several hours passed, but Neeraj neither returned to the flat nor came to pick up his phone. As the hours went by, Neeraj's family and colleagues began calling his friend Lal, but he had no information about his whereabouts.

Finally, on the evening of May 8, Neeraj's friend Lal went to Maria's flat. When he asked her who she had been with, she was unable to give a clear answer. After much deliberation, both of them decided to file a missing person's report at the Malad Police Station.

The police seized Neeraj's phone and began their search for him. They questioned his close friends, but no new information surfaced. The investigation then turned towards Maria, though initially, the police didn't suspect her. However, when they examined Maria's call records, the results were shocking. Between May 8 and May 20, there were over 1,000 calls between Maria and her boyfriend, Jerome Mathew. This raised alarm, especially since Jerome was in Mumbai on the night Neeraj disappeared.

Maria and Jerome were both summoned for questioning. During the investigation, the building's security guard made a startling revelation. He mentioned that on the evening of May 8, he saw Maria and her boyfriend carrying heavy items in bags, which made the police increasingly suspicious of their involvement.

With this new information, the police's suspicions were confirmed, and after gathering further evidence, Maria was arrested. Despite initially changing her statements, Maria eventually broke down under intense questioning. What she revealed left everyone shocked and stunned.

Maria confessed that Neeraj Grover was murdered on May 8. Maria had called Neeraj on May 7 to help her with shifting. Both were spending quality time at home when Maria's boyfriend Jerome Mathew called. When Mathew heard Neeraj's voice coming from behind on the call, he got angry because he felt that Neeraj's intentions were not good for Maria. Seeing Jerome Mathew getting angry, Maria explained to him that he had come to help only as a friend. She would send him away after dinner. In response, Jerome said that it would not be good if Neeraj stayed with them.

The next day, on May 8, the doorbell of Maria's flat was ringing. When Maria did not reach the door for a few seconds, the doorbell started ringing again and again. When she opened the door in a hurry, she saw Jerome standing at the door. Maria got scared of seeing him because Neeraj was at her house at that time. Jerome entered the flat. Maria stopped him from going into the bedroom, but Jerome pushed her. As soon as Jerome entered the room, he saw that Neeraj was on her bed. On seeing this, he started beating Neeraj.

Maria tried to stop them but failed. During the fight, Jerome brought a knife from the kitchen with which he stabbed Neeraj several times. Jerome's clothes were soaked in blood, there were blood splatters all over the room and Neeraj was slowly dying. As soon as Neeraj died, Maria immediately started cleaning the room. She cleaned the blood, changed the bedsheets and curtains, and completely cleaned the blood from the dead body. Neeraj's dead body remained in their room for a few hours. During this time, Maria and Jerome had physical relations several times in the same room where the dead body was.

After some time, both of them went to a nearby shopping mall where they purchased polybags and sharp knives.

After returning home, both of them together cut the body into 300 pieces. They bought petrol on the way and after finding a deserted place, they filled petrol in a bag and set it on fire. When both of them went out to dispose of the body parts, Neeraj's phone was in Maria's jeans pocket. Neeraj's phone rang on the way, so Maria took the phone out of her pocket to see the number, at that time she received the call by mistake. That one call proved to be an important link in this murder case.

Maria Monica Susairaj was found not guilty of the killing, but guilty of destroying evidence and was sentenced to a maximum of three years' imprisonment. She was released the following day with time served.

Jerome Mathew was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the killing and 3 years for destroying evidence. The sentences will be served concurrently, with 3 years served already applied.