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MUMBAI: Maria Susairaj on Saturday sought to convince the media that victim Neeraj Grover’s body had not been chopped into 300-odd pieces after the murder, a rare instance of a convicted criminal brazening out a public defence of her act.

Susairaj’s press conference came after a day spent in Mumbai ’darshan’, which included a visit to St Michael’s Church in Mahim, aborted attempts to visit the Mahim Dargah and the Siddhivinayak temple, and being tailed by the media through her drive from the island city to Thane and back.

But the media briefing, which was supposed to be Susairaj’s show, degenerated into a free-for-all after friends of Grover, the man killed in May 2008 at a Malad highrise, descended on the Press Club in south Mumbai, forcing Susairaj to seek police protection by the end of the day.

Susairaj and her lawyer Sharif Shaikh sought to clear the air over the number of pieces Grover’s body had been chopped into after the murder. "The prosecution had said that both Maria and Emile Jerome (who was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment) had cut Grover into 300 pieces, but according to the photograph taken by the investigating officer, Satish Raorane, it is clear that the rib cage, skull and legs are intact at the place of the offence, where the body was supposed to be burnt," Shaikh said.

At the same time, Susairaj also put in a line of sympathy for the Grovers. "I feel sympathy for his family as losing somebody in the family is not easy. This whole scenario is sad," she said. The attempt at sympathy was promptly met with derision by the Grovers in Kanpur. The 30-year-old refused to comment on her relationship with Grover, and played down the importance of her fiancee, Jerome, in her life. "I have not had a word with him..." She insisted that she shared "no friendship" with Jerome.

Even as she was being bombarded with questions from the media, Grover’s friends protested loudly. "Maria is a killer", they shouted. At one point, a protestor inched his way to Susairaj, and lawyers and media persons jumped to her rescue and ordered them to leave the venue. She quickly regained her composure: "I haven’t faced so many people in the last three years I was in jail. It is still not digested...I cannot be cool after being in jail for three years and 41 days."

She refused to comment on the case and repeatedly said: "All I know that is I am innocent. I don’t want to comment anything about the law. I have left the past behind. I have not yet realized what is happening. I have not digested the stigma that I have been convicted."

The chaos at the Byculla women’s jail set the tone for the day as onlookers and mediapersons armed with cameras gathered at the entrance waiting for Susairaj. The police had to be called in to control the crowds.

Amid the growing frenzy, her lawyer requested the police to allow the private vehicle — a white Honda City — into the prison grounds as he feared for his client’s safety. At 11.35am on Saturday morning, Susairaj clad in a brown floral salwar kameez, stepped out of the jail with a police escort. A constable at the gate shook his head in wonder and said "It is only on rare occasions that a private vehicle is allowed on the prison premises."

At that moment, the gates opened for an ambulance, which the waiting crowd thought was a decoy. A closer glance revealed that the ambulance was ferrying Malegaon bomb blast accused Sadhvi Pragya Thakur to a hospital. But on Saturday morning, all eyes were trained on the Kannada actor.

The moment the white car carrying Susairaj, her brother Richard and an associate lawyer rolled out of the prison gates, the media gave chase. The vehicle sped towards Worli and took the Bandra-Worli Sea Link only to return to St Michael’s Church at Mahim.
Later at the press conference, Susairaj explained her need to visit the church instead of leaving the city as initially planed. "For three years I haven’t seen the door of a church. I had to go to show that I was grateful and thankful. I have always felt close to God and I believed in God. I reconnected." She was also scheduled a visit to the Mahim Dargah and Siddhivinayak temple, but decided against it and took the Western Express Highway to Thane in an attempt to shake off the media. Once the coast was clear, she quickly headed to her lawyer’s office at Bandra Kurla Express.

About her future plans, Susiaraj said, "I am not going to decide anything for myself anymore. Let my family decide everything. I have put my past behind me. I have spent three years and 41 days in jail. The time I spent in jail I should say was very blessed. I got closer to God. I started attending prayer meets and involved myself into creative activities like paintings."

Susairaj is convicted for destruction of evidence and had been sentenced to three years. She walked out of Byculla women’s prison at 11.35am as she has already served the sentence having been in jail since her arrest in 2008.