Nearly two years after the crime, the Neyyattinkara Additional Sessions court on Monday awarded 24-year-old Greeshma, the prime accused in the Sharon Raj murder case, a death penalty. She was found guilty of murder earlier on Friday.
The court also sentenced her uncle, Nirmalakumaran Nair, another accused in the case, to three years of imprisonment. But acquitted Greeshma's mother.
Earlier, Greeshma had appealed for leniency in sentencing by citing her academic achievements, lack of prior criminal history, and the fact that she was a single child. In its 586-page verdict, the court noted that there was no need to consider the convict’s age given the gravity of the crime committed, News18 reported.
The court found Greeshma guilty under several charges, including Sections 302 (murder), 328 (causing harm to a person using poison or other harmful substances), 364 (kidnapping or abducting to murder) and 203 (destruction of evidence, or providing false information to protect an offender from legal punishment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Sharon Raj murder plot
Sharon Raj, a 23-year-old BSc Radiology student, was killed in a cold-blooded poisoning by his girlfriend, who reportedly used a pesticide-laden concoction to succeed in her motive in 2022, PTI reported.
He was a native of Parassala in the Thiruvananthapuram district.
The crime unfolded when Greeshma lured Sharon Raj to her house at Ramavarmanchirai, Kanyakumari, and poisoned him with a lethal mix of paraquat, a potent herbicide, and an Ayurvedic tonic on October 14, 2022.
She plotted the murder reportedly after Sharon refused to end their relationship, despite her marriage being finalised with an army man from Nagercoil, PTI reported.
Sharon succumbed to multiple organ failure on October 25, 2022, eleven days after ingesting the poison, said officials, adding that the spiked drink severely damaged his kidney, liver and lungs.
During the initial probe, it was known that Sharon’s family had repeatedly contacted Greeshma to inquire about what she had given him, but she withheld the truth. The police later stated that Sharon’s life could have been saved had she revealed the truth earlier.
(With inputs from PTI)
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