Thiruvananthapuram: With the Neyyattinkara Additional Sessions Court awarding the death sentence to Greeshma for murdering her boyfriend Sharon Raj, she has become the youngest woman in Kerala to be sentenced to capital punishment. It is extremely rare for women to receive the death penalty in Kerala. Currently, the only other woman  on a death row in the state- Rafeeqa Beevi, was convicted in the Vizhinjam Mullur Santhakumari murder case.

Rafeeqa Beevi was the prime accused in the brutal murder of Santhakumari, an elderly woman, for gold. Rafeeqa and her accomplices, including her son Shafiq and friend Al Ameen, were sentenced to death a year ago by the same Neyyattinkara Additional Sessions Court and judge A M Basheer, who pronounced Greeshma's sentence on Monday.

Mullur Santhakumari murder case
The crime that led to Rafeeqa Beevi’s conviction occurred on January 14, 2022. Rafeeqa, who lived near Santhakumari, invited her to her rented house under the pretext of a visit. The motive was robbery. Police investigations revealed that Santhakumari was bludgeoned to death with a hammer and her body was hidden in the attic. Blood dripping from the attic raised suspicions, leading to the discovery of the crime.

Rafeeqa and her accomplices pawned some of the stolen jewellery and kept the rest, which the police later recovered. The accused were apprehended while attempting to flee to Kozhikode.

Link to another case during questioning
During interrogation, police uncovered Rafeeqa and her son Shafiq's involvement in another murder. A 14-year-old girl, who had died under suspicious circumstances a year earlier, was found to be a victim of rape and murder.

Shafiq confessed to assaulting the girl and killing her by hitting her on the head to prevent her from revealing the crime. Initially, the girl’s death was deemed a suicide due to her pre-existing medical conditions and medication use. Although the post-mortem revealed evidence of sexual assault, the perpetrator remained unidentified until Shafiq’s confession reopened the investigation by Kovalam police. At the time of the girl’s death, Shafiq and Rafeeqa were living in a rented house near the victim’s home.