In their bid to establish that the murder of Synergy Adlabs creative head Neeraj Grover was premeditated and not committed in a fit of rage, the police will collect DNA samples of both the accused, Indian Navy Lt Emile Jerome Mathew and his fiancée Kannada actress Maria Monica Susairaj, and send them for forensic analysis.
“DNA analysis of the accused is imperative to bolster the evidence against them,” DCP (Crime) Deven Bharati told HT.
The knives allegedly used by Mathew to stab Grover are already with the forensic experts. Keen to tie up all loose ends and present a watertight case, the police want to ensure that the DNA of the duo matches that of the bloodstains on the knife and on the walls of the apartment they were living in.
Mathew and Susairaj have been remanded to police custody till June 3.
Mathew allegedly stabbed Grover to death when, on a surprise visit to his fiancée’s apartment early on the morning of May 7, he found Grover there with her. He discovered the two had spent the night together.
Mathew later pressured Susairaj into going out and buying two large sports bags into which Grover’s corpse was stuffed, after cutting it up into several pieces. They then carried the bags to the Gujarat border and dropped them at Bhyandar creek. A third bag belonging to Susairaj, which carried some leftovers of the corpse was burnt.
{{/usCountry}}Mathew later pressured Susairaj into going out and buying two large sports bags into which Grover’s corpse was stuffed, after cutting it up into several pieces. They then carried the bags to the Gujarat border and dropped them at Bhyandar creek. A third bag belonging to Susairaj, which carried some leftovers of the corpse was burnt.
{{/usCountry}}While Mathew took the first flight out of Mumbai, Susairaj accompanied Grover’s brother and friends to the police station later, when they went to complain that Grover had gone missing.
However, following sustained interrogation, Susairaj broke down and confessed on May 20. Both she and Mathew were soon arrested.
The police, however, now insist that the murder was not a simple crime of passion but had been planned as Mathew had suspected Susairaj’s relationship with Grover for some time.
But they rubbished reports that Susairaj had used high-level contacts to try and influence them. "No one ever contacted the Malad police station on behalf of Suisairaj," Bharati stated.