Neeraj Grover's parents meet RR Patil, demand harsher punishment for Maria

Parents of murdered TV executive Neeraj Grover today met Maharashtra home minister RR Patil to seek justice for their son.

They explained their position on the case and sought harsher punishment for Maria Susairaj, saying she is equally guilty of the murder and should not be allowed to get away lightly.

The Grovers met Patil at his official residence in south Mumbai.

"Maria changed her statements many times. This is how you know someone is lying. We want Maria to be made equally guilty as Jerome. Both of them killed our son. Maria should not be allowed to get away lightly," said Neeraj's father Amarnath Grover, 60.

"We want Maria and Jerome to be given maximum punishment," he said.

Sources said the Grovers requested the government to appoint Ujjwal Nikam as the special public prosecutor to represent the case in the high court.

Neeraj was killed and his body hacked into several pieces and dumped in Manor forest in adjoining Thane on May 7, 2008.

Susairaj, who was sentenced to three-year imprisonment in the murder, had already spent the term behind the bars and was released after the verdict.

The starlet was found guilty under IPC Section 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), while her boyfriend, former navy officer Emile Jerome, was held guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder in the macabre killing of the 25-year-old TV professional.