A lower court in Kerala, on Friday, January 17, convicted prime accused Greeshma and her uncle Nirmal Kumar in the murder of 23-year-old Sharon Raj, a native of Kerala’s Parasala. However, her mother Sindhu, who was arraigned as co-accused, has been acquitted. The court will pass a detailed order on the sentence on January 18.
Greeshma (22), a resident of Ramavarmachirai in Kanyakumari district, had wanted to end her romantic relationship with Sharon after her marriage was fixed with another man, but Sharon was not ready for a breakup. She subsequently confessed to the police that she mixed poison in the kashayam (Ayurvedic concoction) that she offered him to drink.
The Neyyattinkara Additional Sessions Court judge AM Basheer found Greeshma guilty of all charges against her, including murder, abduction with intent to murder, and destruction of evidence, while her uncle Nirmal was found guilty under Section 201 (causing disappearance of evidence, or giving false information) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
At the time of the crime, Sharon was a final-year BSc Radiology student, while Greeshma was pursuing a postgraduate degree in literature.
On October 14, 2022, Sharon visited Greeshma’s house, where she offered him the concoction, claiming it would relieve pain. As the concoction was bitter, she also offered him mango juice along with it. As Sharon left the house, he began to feel sick, according to his friend who had accompanied Sharon to her house. Later, he went to the Parassala Government Hospital, from where he was referred to the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital. But he was sent back home as his blood tests were normal at the time.
However, on October 15, 2022, he began to suffer severe health issues, and after consulting a few other hospitals, he was again taken to the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital. He was eventually admitted to the ICU after his blood test showed major variations. The doctors also found that his internal organs were damaged. On October 25, Sharon died due to a cardiac arrest caused by organ failure.
After his family alleged that it was a planned murder, the investigation in the case was handed over to a Crime Branch special investigation team led by DySP Johnson, on October 30, 2022.
On October 31, 2022, Greeshma’s arrest was recorded and the next day, her mother Sindhu and her uncle Nirmal were arrested for abetting the crime and destroying evidence. While the Kerala High Court refused to grant bail to Nirmal and Sindhu, on September 25, 2023, the HC granted bail to Greeshma. The court observed that the accused cannot be denied bail “merely because the sentiments of the community are against her”.