Sharon Raj murder case: Kerala court sentences girlfriend Greeshma to death

Greeshma, who was found guilty of murdering Sharon Raj by poisoning him in October 2022, was sentenced to death by a district sessions court in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Her uncle was sentenced to three years in jail for destroying evidence.

In Short

• Greeshma poisoned Sharon using ayurvedic concoction for not ending relationship
• Court called it ‘rarest of rare’ case, said it sent wrong message to society
• Greeshma’s uncle got 3-year jail sentence for destroying evidence, mother acquitted

The Additional District Sessions Court in Thiruvananthapuram sentenced the accused, Greeshma, to death in the 2022 murder of 23-year-old Sharon Raj.

The court, which found 24-year-old Greeshma guilty of murder on Friday (January 17), reserved the sentencing for today (January 20). Her uncle, Nirmal Kumar, was given a sentence of three years’ rigorous imprisonment for his role as accomplice, and destroying evidence. Her mother, Sindhu, however, was acquitted by the court.

The Neyyattinkara Additional Sessions Court gave the death penalty observing that this was a rarest of rare cases, and thus her age cannot be taken into consideration.

The defence in its arguments, earlier, contended that she was a young woman with a promising academic record and deserved a chance to reform. The defence argued that she already showed signs of reforms, so should be given an opportunity to rebuild her life.

Sharon Raj, who hailed from Thiruvananthapuram suburbs of Parassala, died of internal organ failure on October 25, 2022.

Inquiry into the death led to uncovering of the crime of poisoning. Greeshma, who was in a relationship with Sharon, poisoned him because he refused to end their relationship.

It was found that Greeshma lured Sharon to her home in Ramavarmanchirai in Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari district on October 14 and served him poison-laced ayurvedic drink. She did so to get rid of him as Greeshma’s parents had arranged her marriage to someone else.

Sharon started showing signs of poisoning after he left Greeshma’s house with constant vomiting. Reportedly, his parents even called her to ask what she served him so that he could get timely medical treatment.

According to the court, she cheated on a person who loved her and that did not send out a good message to society. The court also hailed the investigation team and said the probe was carried out very intelligently.