The investigation into the death of Thiruvananthapuram Parassala native Sharon Raj, who died last week after allegedly consuming some drinks offered by his girlfriend, has been handed over to a Crime Branch special investigation team led by DySP Johnson. After the 23-year-old man died on Tuesday, October 25 due to organ failure, his family had alleged that this was a planned murder. They also shared with the police a video of Sharon and his girlfriend, who was carrying two bottles of mango juice, taking part in a “juice challenge”. The family has claimed that there were chances he was being slow-poisoned for a while by his girlfriend, who hails from Ramavarmachirai in Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari district. The police, however, haven’t confirmed any of these allegations, as the postmortem reports couldn’t affirm the same.
Briefing the case at a press meet on Saturday, Thiruvananthapuram Rural District Police Chief Shilpa Dyavaiah said that the cause of Sharon’s death has not been confirmed through postmortem. She added that samples have been sent for some chemical tests, and the exact cause of his death can be known only after the results arrive.
“It was on October 20 that the police were first informed about [Sharon], who was admitted at the Medical College Hospital. He was reportedly suffering from vomiting and diarrhoea, and the hospital said he was poisoned. On the same night, Sharon’s statement was recorded by the magistrate. The next day, on October 21, the Parassala police also took his statement. Sharon said he had consumed some kashayam [Ayurvedic concoction]. He also said that he didn’t think the girl had any role in what happened. He died four days after that,” the officer said.
Meanwhile, Sharon’s family raised many allegations against the Parassala police, including that the police did not even take their statements until days after the incident. The case has now been transferred to the District Crime Branch, Shilpa said. The special investigation team has also intimated Sharon’s girlfriend and her parents to record their statements.
According to the statements by Sharon’s friends and family, he had consumed some kashayam given by his girlfriend at her house, and later some juice. A friend of his who apparently accompanied him to her house told the media that Sharon had been vomiting throughout while going back home. The family also accessed the WhatsApp chat between Sharon and his girlfriend, in which she expresses concern over Sharon’s health and says that it happened because of the juice.
While speaking to Sharon’s father Jayaraj, the girlfriend reportedly denied any foul play. But she apparently stated that there were some issues with her horoscope, due to which this mishap must have happened. “Her horoscope says that her first husband will die, and her family believes in all these superstitions. We have also learnt that they tied the knot secretly. So we suspect a conspiracy here. They might have killed him so that she could get a happy family life. She was previously engaged to a person who worked in the Army,” Sharon’s father Jayaraj told TNM.