
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Only one with the mind for extreme brutality can carry out a similar crime against a boyfriend or husband while in love,” the Neyyattinkara Additional Sessions Court observed, while awarding the capital punishment to S S Greeshma. The court said Sharon Raj was killed “inch by inch”, adding that Greeshma had previously attempted to murder Sharon by giving him juice spiked with paracetamol pills.
“Greeshma actively sought to prolong the victim’s suffering, to cause extreme pain before death... such a person can’t be reformed,” the verdict said.
The court observed that her act had shaken the collective conscience of society. Brushing aside the defence counsel’s request for leniency, on account of Greeshma’s age, Justice A M Basheer said the victim was also of the same age. “Hence, the convict is not entitled to the benefit of age,” the judge said.
The court rebuffed the defence counsel’s argument that what Greeshma committed was a ‘justified murder’ as she was left with no other choice but to poison Sharon because he was blackmailing her with intimate photographs. The court noted that there was no evidence to corroborate the claim and the conversation between the two revealed that Sharon’s love for Greeshma was sincere. “The convict killed the concept of honest love,” the verdict said.
It said the convict had lured Sharon to her house on the offer of sex and that fell under the definition of kidnap for murder. Two hours prior to Sharon’s arrival at her house, she made preparations with the intention to murder him.
Her web search history had revealed that Greeshma had read about the irreversible damage the toxin can cause to the lungs and other vital organs, and the slow death that can set in within 30 days of its use. She had also browsed pages on how paracetamol can be used as a poison before she attempted the ‘juice challenge’.
The court took note of the devastating effect paraquat had on Sharon’s body and said every body part, from his lips to anus, was damaged. After Sharon’s death, she read about methods to retrieve WhatsApp chats and view backed-up messages, etc., fearing that police were breathing behind her neck. This was one of the main circumstantial evidences which proved decisive.
The prosecution relied on nearly 50 pieces of circumstantial evidence to conclude Greeshma’s guilt. The digital evidence proved crucial as the court recorded that “the god in the cloud saved the data of crime. Greeshma carried the evidence with her in her phone and she stored everything in the cloud.”