Kannada actress Monica arrested for murder

A naval officer and his girlfriend, a Kannada film actress, were arrested in connection with the murder of the creative head of television production house Synergy Adlabs.

Neeraj Grover, 25, the producer of Shah Rukh Khan’s quiz show Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain had gone missing on the night of May 6. He had lived alone in Versova, in western Mumbai.

Actress Maria Monica Susairaj, 27, had been questioned during the investigation, but she had maintained that though Grover had come to her house for dinner around 10.30 p.m., he had left a couple of hours later saying he had to attend a party in Andheri.

However, friends rubbished the claim. Finally last night (May 21), Susairaj confessed to the crime branch that she and her childhood sweetheart, M L Jerome Mathew, 25, had killed Grover.

Police suspect the murder was result of a 'love triangle'. According to Joint Commissioner of Police, Rakesh Maria, Grover had met Susairaj when he was working with Balaji Telefilms. The actress, who has four Kannada movies to her credit, had auditioned for a role in Ekta Kapoor’s upcoming TV serial, Mahabharat, in April. The two had soon entered into a relationship.

Allegedly, Mathew had flown into Mumbai when he suspected Susairaj was having an affair behind his back. He confronted the two at her house and slashed the TV producer on the neck with a kitchen knife. He then stabbed him twice more.

The couple then chopped the body into small pieces and dumped the remains in a jungle 60 km from Mumbai, police said

Mathew was arrested from Kochi, where he works as an aeronautical engineer at the naval base.