The sessions court on Monday criticised the prosecution in the Neeraj Grover murder case rejecting its theory of the existence of a love triangle by saying that the friendship between Kannada actress Maria Susairaj and Grover was only 10 days old.
In its 177-page judgment, the court refused to agree to the prosecution’s theories, saying that the prosecution has failed miserably in proving the criminal conspiracy charge.
The judge said that in the press conference, Rakesh Maria, the then joint commissioner of crime, had said that the murder was a result of a “love triangle” between Maria, boyfriend Emile Jerome Mathew and Grover, however, the court was unconvinced.
The court, which recently absolved Maria and Mathew from the charges of conspiracy and murder, said in its judgment that it was Grover who called Maria on the cellphone on the night of the murder, and not vice versa.
The court observed that according to the prosecution Maria had called Grover to her home by telephoning him on May 6, 2008. But the call details showed that it was Grover who had called Maria on her cellphone. Hence, the call record is contrary to the prosecution’s contention.
“If there had been a plan to eliminate Grover, in pursuance to criminal conspiracy between the Maria and Mathew, then why did Mathew call on Grover’s cellphone,” the judge observed.
Further, the judge said, “Another important aspect of the case is that the prosecution has not brought anything on record to show the grudge Maria held against Grover, rather it came with a case of intimacy between the two.” If, according to the prosecution, Grover was trying to get Maria a role in a TV serial, then why did Maria get frustrated in the passage of only a week or a fortnight, when it usually takes considerable time to land a role in television?
Moreover, the court held that as per the prosecution’s case, after the murder, Maria went to Hyper City Mall for buying a big knife and a bag for disposing Grover’s body and also borrowed a car. “These circumstances are contrary to the theory of conspiracy. Had there been a conspiracy, the accused would have been prepared in advance.”
The judge also pointed out that the most important circumstance, which goes against the theory of conspiracy is the weapon of assault, a knife. According to prosecution, a kitchen knife was used to kill Grover.