Thaindian News

Mumbai, July 4 (IANS) Actor Raza Murad, who with other celebrities is protesting the judgment in the May 2008 killing of television executive Neeraj Grover, says the Grover family did not get justice.

“The justice that Grover family should have got was not given to them. Whole India believes that proper justice has not been given to the Grover family. The accused didn’t get the punishment they deserved,” Raza told IANS.

He maintains that the murder was pre-meditated and Maria Susairaj was equally involved with her fiance Jerome Mathew in committing the crime, but she was declared innocent because the prosecution case was not strong enough.

“Prosecution was not very strong in this case, so it was not presented well. The murder was pre-meditated. When the person headed for Mumbai from Cochin, he had already set his mind. Maria Susairaj was in league with the murderer from the very beginning.”

“If she is claiming to be innocent, she should have gone to police station instead of going to the mall to get shopping bags. So she’s equally involved in this crime,” said Raza.

Susairaj was sentenced to three years in jail on charges of destroying evidence pertaining to the Grover killing, and walked out of Byculla Jail free Saturday noon as she had already completed the sentence as an under-trial.

“We are from the show business, so when we join any movement, it draws more media attention. So, as the citizen of this country, collectively we have decided to pursue this case and convince the government to move the higher court and give justice to the aggrieved family,” said Raza.

Filmmaker Ashok Pandit and television actress Indira Krishnan joined Raza in the protest.

Candlelight processions will be organised in Lucknow and Kanpur, where Grover’s parents live.

“We are in process of meeting the police chief and we will take an appointment from the chief minister and the home minister also and we will request the government to put this case in the higher court for fast justice,” said Raza.

Susairaj’s fiance ex-naval officer Jerome Mathew was held guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and sentenced to 10 years in jail, of which he will serve seven in prison as he has already spent three years behind bars as an under-trial.

Susairaj and Mathew were also slapped fines of Rs.50,000 and Rs.100,000 respectively, which will be given as compensation to the Grover family.

In one of the most gruesome crimes of passion, Mathew stabbed Grover to death after he found him naked in Susairaj’s bedroom early morning of May 7, 2008, at her apartment in Malad.