The Neyyattinkara Additional Sessions Court, on Monday, January 20, awarded capital punishment to Greeshma, the prime accused in the murder of 23-year-old Sharon Raj, a native of Kerala’s Parasala. Her uncle Nirmal Kumar has been awarded imprisonment of three years. Both of them were found guilty by the court on January 17. However, Greeshma’s mother Sindhu, who was arraigned as co-accused, was acquitted.
Greeshma, who was 22 years old at the time of the crime, was a resident of Ramavarmachirai in Kanniyakumari district. She wanted to end her romantic relationship with Sharon after her marriage was fixed with another man. But Sharon was not ready for the 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).
Sharon was a final-year BSc Radiology student when the crime occurred, 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.
According to Sharon’s friend who accompanied him to Greeshma’s house, Sharon began to feel sick after he left Greeshms’s house. Later, Sharon 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.
A day later on October 15, 2022, Sharon 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. For ten days, he suffered in the hospital due to internal organ damage. On October 25, Sharon died due to a cardiac arrest, which was caused by organ failure.
After the death, Sharon’s family alleged that this was a planned murder and on October 30, the investigation was handed over to the Crime Branch special investigation team, DySP Johnson. On the next day, October 31, 2022, Greeshma’s arrest was recorded. 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”.
Sharon's family informed the media that they plan to file an appeal in the High Court, seeking the conviction of Sindhu, who was acquitted.