Thiruvananthapuram, 20 Jan

A court in Kerala on Monday sentenced a woman to death for the sensational murder of her boyfriend in 2022.

The Neyyattinkara Additional District Sessions Court also sentenced her uncle, Nirmalakumaran Nair, the third accused in the case, to three years of imprisonment.

The 24-year-old convict, Greeshma, had sought leniency in sentencing by citing her academic achievements, lack of prior criminal history, and the fact that she is her parents' only daughter.

In its 586-page verdict, the court observed that there was no need to consider the convict's age and other circumstances over the gravity of the crime committed, according to the prosecutor.

The Victim, Sharon Raj, was a native of Parassala in the Thiruvananthapuram district.

The court also observed that the convict conspired to operate the crime in phases, she had a criminal background as she attempted to murder the youth earlier and tried to end her life after the arrest to divert the investigation, the prosecutor said.

Expressing satisfaction with the judgment, mother of the victim, Priya, told reporters that she was grateful to the court for issuing such an exemplary order.

Special Public Prosecutor V S Vineeth Kumar, told reporters that the verdict was fully justified and the court observed that this case is falling under the rarest of rare category.

"The court noted that the convict was a brilliant criminal who meticulously planned the brutal murder," he said.

He added that despite Greeshma’s belief that she couldn't be detected, the scientific investigation conducted by the probe team ultimately led to her arrest.

The court also rejected Greeshma's claim that she had no criminal background stating that she had attempted to poison Sharon by mixing paracetamol tablets into fruit juice. However, that attempt failed when he refused to drink it, citing its bitter taste, on 22 August 2022, he said.

The court also observed that the woman’s actions sent a harmful message to society and violated the sanctity of love, he added.

Welcoming the verdict, D Shilpa, the then Superintendent of Police, who oversaw the probe, said it was a victory for the joint efforts of the police investigation team.

"We faced several challenges in various phases of the probe but the joint efforts by the officers helped in solving the case," she told reporters.

K Y Johnson, DySP, the then investigation officer, also said there were several challenges during the inquiry.

"We collected scientific evidence and the court considered all the evidence produced by the investigation team," he added.

"The accused searched on Google about slow poisoning and came to know about paraquat, a lethal herbicide.

The presence of this poison on one's body could not be identified in an examination carried out after 24 hours, however, our probe revealed it," he said.

On Friday, Court convicted Greeshma and her uncle—Nirmalakumaran Nair—while acquitting her mother due to lack of evidence.

Greeshma was found guilty under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including murder (Section 302), while her uncle was convicted under Section 201 of the IPC for destroying evidence.

According to the prosecution, Raj was lured by Greeshma to her house in Ramavarmanchirai, located in Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari district, on October 14, 2022, and poisoned with an ayurvedic tonic laced with paraquat, a herbicide.

Raj, 23, succumbed to multiple organ failure at a hospital 11 days later, on October 25, 2022, after consuming the lethal concoction.

The prosecution told the court that Greeshma, then 22, plotted the murder after Sharon refused to end their relationship, even though her marriage had been arranged with an army man from Nagercoil.