Greeshma, a 24-year-old literature student from Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari district, was sentenced to death by the Neyyattinkara Additional Sessions Court for the murder of her long-term boyfriend, Sharon Raj, in October 2022. This makes her the youngest woman in Kerala to receive the death penalty. The court also sentenced her uncle, Nirmalakumaran Nair, to three years in prison for his involvement in the conspiracy.
The case revolves around Greeshma’s attempt to end her relationship with Sharon, a BSc Radiology student from Parassala, Thiruvananthapuram, as she was engaged to another man. When Sharon refused to break up, Greeshma, with the help of her uncle and mother, conspired to kill him. On October 14, 2022, Sharon visited Greeshma at her residence, where she offered him a pesticide-laced ayurvedic decoction. Sharon consumed the drink and succumbed to organ failure 11 days later after battling for his life in the ICU.
Sharon’s declaration to a magistrate and a video he recorded of the suspicious drink proved pivotal in the investigation despite Greeshma's insistence not to. Forensic analysis confirmed the presence of pesticide in the concoction, leading to Greeshma's arrest on October 31, 2022. A charge sheet was filed on January 25, 2023, and over 95 witnesses were examined during the trial, which concluded on January 3, 2025.
Greeshma was charged under several sections of the IPC, including:
- Section 302: Murder
- Section 364: Abduction with intent to commit murder
- Section 328: Administering poison with intent to harm life
- Section 203: Providing false information to obstruct justice
The court observed that the murder was meticulously planned, executed in secrecy, and involved deceitful actions to gain Sharon's trust. It rejected Greeshma's claim of physical abuse by Sharon, noting a lack of evidence and emphasizing that Sharon had never blamed her in their communications. The judge stated that the crime's gravity outweighed Greeshma's young age and noted her betrayal of Sharon's trust and commitment while she maintained contact with her fiancé.
The court highlighted Sharon’s 11-day struggle for survival without consuming water, underscoring the inhumanity of the act. The judgment emphasized the State's responsibility to ensure justice and noted the calculated nature of the crime, marking it as deserving of the death penalty.
