THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A special team of district crime branch will investigate the mysterious death of J P Sharon Raj, a 23-year-old youth who died after allegedly consuming mango juice and a concoction given by his girlfriend. At a press conference held on Saturday, Rural SP D Shilpa said that all aspects would be covered in the investigation. A medical board will be constituted as part of the investigation, Shilpa added.
“The real cause of death will be known only after receiving the medical examination reports of internal organs. As per the dying declaration given by Sharon to the magistrate, he said that the girl has no involvement in his health condition and he clearly stated that the girl will not harm him. However, the police team will check if anybody had malicious intentions,” she said.
Earlier in the day, the family of Sharon, hailing from Parassala, said they will approach the High Court seeking a crime branch investigation as they are not satisfied with the probe being conducted by the Parassala police.
Meanwhile, the girl refuted the allegations of the youth’s relatives and said that she would not do any harm to Sharon. “My marriage is fixed for February. I’ve already suffered greatly as a result of this. I could not do this. The allegations are completely false,” she said in a video clip that was released to the media.
However, more WhatsApp conversations between Sharon and his girlfriend were released by the police on Saturday. They also include a voice message between the girl and Sharon’s brother when Sharon was under treatment in the hospital. In the message, the girl inquired about Sharon’s health condition. Sharon’s brother told the girl that he did not tell them about drinking potion at home and that he had told his parents that he experienced uneasiness after drinking a juice that had crossed the expiry date. The girl also told Sharon’s brother that she had doubts about the quality of the juice.
Meanwhile, a video of a “juice challenge” between him and the girl recorded on Sharon’s mobile phone was released. In the video clip, the girl is seen carrying two bottles of mango juice, and Sharon says that they were going to drink the juice as part of the challenge. Sharon’s relatives said that after the challenge, both of them vomited.
The blood sample report also revealed that his blood contained a high level of bilirubin, which is dangerous for internal organs, after he was admitted to the medical college hospital. The police said that the variation in bilirubin levels might have affected the internal organs that caused his death.
“As per the dying declaration given by Sharon to the magistrate, he said that the girl had no involvement in his health condition. So we have to consider it as a major evidence. However, we are going ahead with the investigation as the relatives of Sharon have raised strong suspicions,” said K Hemanth Kumar, Parassala inspector of police.
Sharon Raj, a final-year BSc Radiology student at Neyyoor Christian College and a resident of Muryangara near Parassala, was admitted to the Parassala Taluk Hospital first and later to the Medical College Hospital after he developed ulcers in his mouth. Later, his kidneys as well as other internal organs were affected, and he finally died on October 25 due to cardiac arrest while on the ventilator.
Sharon’s family alleged that he fell ill after consuming a concoction and juice given by his girlfriend, who is a resident of Karakonam on the other side of the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border. Sharon’s father, Jayaraj, alleged that acid was present in the concoction given to his son and that the role of the girl’s parents in the incident should be probed.
One of his relatives said Sharon had an affair with the girl in the past. After her marriage was fixed with another person, he kept away from her. On September 14, Sharon and his friend Rejin went to her house after being invited over by the girl to return the record book. The SP said the Kerala Police will seek the help of its Tamil Nadu counterpart if needed.