In an important development in TV executive Neeraj Grover murder case, police today arrested defence lawyer Acharya Murthy on charges of threatening a witness, joint commissioner of police (crime) Rakesh Maria said. Murthy was earlier defending prime accused and Kannada actress Maria Susairaj in the murder case.
Police had last month arrested two persons, Raju Wankhede (37), a small time real estate agent, and Munshi Yadav (38) on similar charges of threatening witness Usha Ramalu, asking her not to depose against Susairaj.
Investigation indicated that the two accused acted at the behest of Susairaj's lawyers Acharya Murthy and Raja Thakur. Following the allegations, the lawyers withdrew from the case and refuted their role in warning the witness.
The probe revealed that the two arrested accused were in touch with lawyers Murthy and Thakur. The mobile records show that the two lawyers had spoken to the accused on several occasions during the period when they threatened the witness.
According to police, on September 5, the arrested accused Yadav and Wankhede had gone to witness Ramalu's residence and told her not to depose against Susairaj.
As per the first information report (FIR) filed by Ramalu in suburban Goregaon police station, Yadav had come to her house and told her not to say anything against Susairaj in the court. The witness also said that Yadav took her outside the house and made her speak to Wankhede.
The witness claimed that she was subsequently made to speak to Thakur, one of the actress' lawyers, over mobile phone. Grover, creative head of a TV production house, was killed here on May 7 last year.
According to prosecution Susairaj and her fiance, Navy officer Emile Jerome Mathew, had allegedly stabbed Grover to death after an altercation at former's residence. They chopped the body into pieces and threw them in forest.
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