In Cold Blood

With her arrest, the police claim to have cracked the case of the mysterious disappearance of Neeraj Amarnath Grover, a 25-year-old top executive at Synergy Adlabs who earlier worked as creative head at Balaji Telefilms. Susairaj’s confessions led the police to the skeletal remains of Grover in an isolated spot on the outskirts of the city, a fortnight after Grover’s father had reported him missing. Susairaj’s boyfriend from Mysore, Emile Jerome Mathew, a 25-year-old Navy lieutenant posted in Kochi, was arrested for stabbing Grover in a fit of jealousy and rage.

What sent chills down the spine was the cold-blooded nature of the crime. According to the police, shortly after the murder, Mathew and Susairaj had sex, following which Grover’s body was chopped into several small pieces with a kitchen knife and stashed in three duffel bags that were later burnt by the lovers.

Investigations began after Grover’s father approached the Malad police station to file a missing complaint on May 7. Police say Susairaj came to Mumbai in October 2007 and did an acting course. She then went to Bangalore, and acted in four Kannada films, before returning to Mumbai looking for roles in tele-serials. It was then that she met Grover, a talented, young executive in the television industry.

After shifting to Mumbai from Kanpur in January 2007, he worked with two firms before getting a call from Balaji Productions, where he was co-producer in a few serials. Weeks before the murder, he joined Synergy Adlabs, where he was the assistant creative head of the Shah Rukh Khan show, Kya Aap Panchvi Pass Se Tez Hai.

Crime Branch officers say Susairaj befriended Grover and the two started “seeing each other”. “She approached Grover with her portfolio, and the two got intimate through SMSes and meeting at coffee shops. Enquiries have revealed that Grover had promised her a role in Mahabharat, a new tele-serial. He had told his friends that he was in love with Susairaj. However, when we interrogated her, Susairaj claimed that it was a purely one-sided affair,” said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rakesh Maria.

On the night of May 6, Grover landed up at Dheeraj Solitaire Building in Malad (West), where Susairaj was shifting into a one-bedroom rented flat that day. He said he would help her move her belongings. While the two were chatting, Susairaj is said to have received a call on her mobile phone from Mathew, who overheard Grover asking her, “Is that your boyfriend?”

Mathew and Susairaj had known each other from their schooldays in St. Matthias School in Mysore. Their friends say they find it hard to believe that Mathew, who was only last year felicitated by former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, and Susairaj, with a bright future in dancing and acting, could be accused of such a crime. Susairaj’s family, who are builders, are known to be influential in Mysore but have locked their house to rush to Mumbai. Her uncle, Shantu Nessun, was elected a municipal corporator just six months ago.

A neighbour, who preferred to remain anonymous, said “Monica’s father is well known in the Christian community. Their family has built several Christian schools and churches in the city. They are good people, who have gone out of their way to help others in Mysore.”

Kavita, Susairaj’s friend in school, says she was easily the best Bharatnatyam dancer, while Mathew, though an introvert, was exceptional in academics and was the school captain. “I knew them when she was in Class 10 and Mathew was in Class 7. They were friends then. The murder and their arrest have deeply shaken us, especially since Jerome had a great career in the Navy,” said Kavita.

An excellent dancer, singer and performer, Susairaj always wanted to work in films. She joined a BA Journalism course in Mysore in 1999 but did not complete it as she “was busy modelling”. Susairaj’s friends also recall that she trained under the legendary classical dancer Vasundhara Doraiswamy.

Mathew, the son of a retired bank clerk, was a newly commissioned officer in the Navy and was seen as a “bright youngster with a brilliant future”, who even won a gold medal for topping his course at the Naval Engineering College at INS Shivaji in Lonavala. His friends in the Naval circuit say that the officer and Susaira used to frequent parties and social events in Mumbai.

“Mathew knew about Grover, but the two had never met or spoken. Susairaj had told Mathew that Grover had a soft corner for her but that she did not feel the same. She maintained this during her interrogation as well. However, Susairaj and Grover were going around and the two had sex the night before the murder,” said Joint Commissioner Maria.

When Mathew found out that Grover was in Susairaj’s house that night, he asked her to get him to leave immediately, to which she said he would leave after helping her move in. He made two more calls on Susairaj’s phone but when he found the phone switched off, he called on Grover’s cellphone and asked him to leave.

Grover, however, stayed over at Susairaj’s flat and the two apparently went to sleep around 4 a.m. Three hours later, Susairaj answered the doorbell only to find Mathew at her doorstep. He had taken a 3:45 a.m. Air India flight to Mumbai and headed straight to her house.

“Mathew walked into her bedroom and found Grover there. He woke him up and the two fought bitterly before Mathew got a knife from the kitchen and stabbed him in the chest. He then attacked him several times till he was dead. The whole thing was over in 10 to 15 minutes. Mathew then slapped Susairaj once or twice, after which they had sex. They then decided on the best way to get rid of Grover’s body,” said Maria.

Around noon, Susairaj went to Hypercity Mall and bought two large bags, a large bread-knife, air fresheners, and new drapes to replace the blood stained ones. It had been decided that she would pay by cash but when she fell short of Rs 800 on a purchase of Rs 2,000, she used her debit card.

“Mathew then dragged Grover’s body to the bathroom, where he used the bread knife to chop the body into several pieces. He handed each piece to Susaira, who placed them in the bags. This went on for over three hours and finally, they also put their blood stained clothes in the bags,” said Maria.

Susairaj then called a choreographer friend and on some pretext, borrowed his Hyundai Santro. Mathew and Susairaj went to the friend’s house in an autorickshaw and returned in the car after picking up petrol in a jerry-can. After reaching home, they carried the three bags down by lift, and loaded them into the car. Susairaj introduced Mathew as her friend to the building watchman.

“While training on the INS Shivaji at Lonavla, Mathew had made several trips from Mumbai to Daman and Diu in the past and knew of several isolated forested areas on the way. Mathew and Susairaj drove around for about three hours before finding an isolated spot in Manor, Thane (Rural). They dumped the bags there, doused them with petrol and burnt them,” said Maria.

In the evening, when Grover’s friends landed up at Susairaj’s house, looking for him, she told them that he had left. She gave them his mobile phone, saying Grover had forgotten to take it. She then accompanied Grover’s friends to Malad police station to report him missing. The next day, Susairaj got her entire flat repainted. When Mathew and Susairaj were called to the Malad police station that day, Mathew told them that he was in the city for a training exercise. By then, Naval authorities in Kochi had declared him missing.

“On May 12, Susaira and four friends came to my office. They asked me for help in tracking Grover. After they introduced themselves, I told Susaira that she had nearly ended my search as my prime suspect was sitting in front of me. Although she denied her role initially, she eventually broke down and told us everything,” said Maria.

(With inputs from Manu Pubby in New Delhi and Kautilya Singh in Kanpur)