The farce of four pieces makes Maria a good girl

High drama, a media frenzy, and even a protest the press conference held by Maria Susairaj and her lawyer Sharif Shaikh after her release from Byculla Jail, at The Press Club in Mumbai on Saturday evening, had it all, except any real information.

After three years in jail, where she and fiance and former naval officer Emile Jerome were being tried for the 2008 murder of television executive Neeraj Grover, the 30 year-old walked free.

It was more a circus and less a media meet on Saturday evening. Susairaj lived up to her acting credentials by professing her 'innocence' and connection with God even as her lawyer held up a photo, claiming Grover's body was hacked into 4, not 300 pieces, hence absolving her. PIC/ Satyajit Desai

Dressed in a salwar kameez, an expressionless Susairaj, accompanied by her brother, rubbed her nose through most of the proceedings even as Shaikh brandished a photograph of Neeraj Grover's "rib cage" and "skull", that was produced in court by the prosecution to say, "Grover's body was cut into four pieces only, not 300, as the prosecution has claimed.
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Even a kasai (butcher) will not cut a goat into 300 pieces." He added, "Maria was unconscious when Grover was stabbed. I am not satisfied with the verdict. We will receive the judgment copy on July 7. After that, I will appeal against the decision in High Court."

Later, however, bowing to pressure from TV crews who persisted in asking her for a byte, Susairaj took the mike, starting to speak hesitantly. "I know I am innocent and my God knows I am innocent but I have been convicted. The fact that I was convicted in the case is itself a stigma for life."

The sniffling 30 year-old then appealed to the media not to besiege her with queries, saying "I have a lot of sympathy for Grover's family because they have lost a loved one.
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I am not signing any film or serial. I will spend time with my family in my native town. What is happening to me right now hasn't sunk in yet. I have left my past behind."

The Kannada actress convicted of destroying evidence in the murder case, said she took a spiritual turn, and spent time in jail painting, "getting close to God, and attending prayer meets. The time spent in jail was blessed."

"I am not going to decide anything for myself. My family will decide everything," she sagely concluded, when asked about her future.

Meanwhile, filmmaker Ashok Pandit, best known for offering an opinion on most issues, was seen with some friends of Grover at the conference holding protest banners.
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A man from the party protesting Maria's release even tried to disrupt the conference by crowding the table at which Shaikh and Susairaj were seated, but was restrained by a Press Club member.

Grover's father, Amarnath Grover and his family watched the fracas on TV. His sister Shikha told a TV channel, the culprit should go through what her parents had endured in the last three years "tit for tat".u00a0