Murder case against Mariya Monica

Mariya Monica Susayraj, Kannada actress and dancer, was arrested along with her fiancee Naval Officer ML Jerome Mathew for allegedly killing Neeraj Grower, her ex-boyfriend and creative head of Shahrukh Khan's new TV show. Neeraj, who was reported missing since May 7th, was last seen with Mariya. She had told the police earlier that Neeraj had come to her apartment at Malad, Mumbai at 10.30 p.m. on May 6th but left two hours later.

Mariya was under suspicion since Neeraj was reported missing on May 7th. She confessed everything to the police after two days of interrogation. She revealed that when Jerome, who was stationed in Kochi, called Monica's apartment in Mumbai, he overheard Neeraj's voice. Mariya explained that it was her friend who came to help her in shifting house. But Mathew turned up in her apartment the next morning to find Neeraj in her bedroom. Blinded by rage, Jerome killed Neeraj with a kitchen knife. Mariya later purchased a chopping knife and two sports bags from a nearby store. They chopped Neeraj's body into about 300 pieces, dumped them in a remote location after setting them on fire using petrol. Mariya took the police to the spot where they had burnt the body and Neeraj's relatives identified the body by a silver chain on the scene.

The police will produce Mariya and Mathew in court on Thursday for further custody.

What went wrong?

Mariya, a student of History at Maharaja's College, Mysore, was a talented and cheerful personality. She was born in a reputed and wealthy family in Mysore. From a very young age, she dreamt of making it big in the wonderful world of glamour and acting. Her friends remember her as a warm and friendly person who could sing and dance well. She had won several prizes for singing and dancing in inter-collegiate competitions and is a good snooker player. Mariya had come to Bombay hoping to make it big. She became famous as a model and managed to find roles in a few Kannada movies. But the starlet with glittering eyes had to face a gruesome incident involving love and anger which could change her life and destroy her dreams. Her friends and family are in shock after all the drama has unfolded and finds it hard to believe that she is guilty of this crime.

The tragedy comes at a time when she was planning to get married to Mathew, whom she met in Bombay. What could have gone wrong in the life of this talented and beautiful girl whose only dream was to become an actress?