A Kerala court has sentenced Greeshma, the primary accused in the murder of 23-year-old Sharon Raj, to death.

The tragic incident unfolded when Sharon, a final-year BSc Radiology student from Thiruvananthapuram, was in a relationship with Greeshma, a literature student. Her uncle, Nirmal Kumar, was sentenced to three years of imprisonment.

Greeshma was also sentenced to ten years in prison for abduction and five years for attempting to mislead the investigation. The ruling was issued by Neyyattinkara Additional Sessions Court Judge AM Basheer on January 17, after convicting both Greeshma and her uncle.

The court found Greeshma guilty under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 364 (kidnapping or abduction to murder), 328 (causing hurt by poison), 302 (murder), and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence). Nirmal Kumar was found guilty under Section 201 for aiding in the destruction of evidence, while Greeshma’s mother was acquitted due to insufficient evidence.

The case details reveal that Greeshma and Sharon had been romantically involved for over a year, having met at a private college in Kanyakumari. However, as tensions rose, particularly after Greeshma’s family arranged her marriage to another man, she allegedly plotted Sharon’s murder. The prosecution claimed that Greeshma, in collusion with her mother and uncle, poisoned Sharon with an Ayurvedic tonic on October 14, 2022, at her residence in Kanyakumari.

The accused reportedly concealed the poison bottle to eliminate evidence. Sharon’s health rapidly deteriorated, and he died from multiple organ failure on October 25. The incident provoked widespread outrage, prompting a special investigation by the Crime Branch, led by DySP Johnson.

Greeshma was arrested on October 31, 2022, followed by the arrests of her mother and uncle. Throughout the trial, Greeshma faced charges of murder, abduction with intent to murder, and destruction of evidence under the IPC. She remained in custody for nearly a year before the Kerala High Court granted her bail on September 25, 2023, with stringent conditions, while the trial continued alongside her co-accused.