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Former primary school teacher Mohan Kumar, 50, who
allegedly poisoned 20 young women to death using cyanide between 2003
and 2009 was convicted in a third case Wednesday. He had been
convicted in two cases Tuesday. The fourth additional and district
sessions court in Mangalore, where all victims of Kumar belonged, will
pronounce sentences in the cases on Thursday.
The serial killer was convicted Wednesday of
murdering Sunanda, 32, of Sullia in Mangalore region. Sunanda had
disappeared on February 11, 2008, after she left home saying she was
going to a temple nearby. She was found dead at the state bus stand in
Mysore that night.
The police said Kumar lured Sunanda with the
promise of marriage after befriending her through a series of meetings
in Dakshina Kannada district using the fake identity Shashidhar. He
took her to a lodge in Mysore on February 11, poisoned her with
cyanide at the bus stand in the evening and decamped with her gold
ornaments.
Employees of a finance company where Kumar pawned
the gold and that of the lodge in Mysore where he stayed with Sunanda
were witnesses in the case.
Mangalore Fast Track Court in a fix over cyanide
Mohan Kumar’s cases
The New Indian Express
May 29, 2011
Mangalore: Fast Track Court
faced a dilemma when Cyanide Mohan Kumar’s case came up for hearing on
Saturday.
Fast Track Court judge
Ninge Gowda Janthila while inviting suggestions from special public
prosecuter Cheyabba Beary to prevent confusion, said there were two
options to tackle the dilemma. The first option before them was to try
al the 13 cases at a stretch every month or hear a bunch of cases not
exceeding more than four cases every month.
After trying these cases up
to a certain stage, the verdict in all cases would be declared
simultaneously, the judge opined. Later, beary told Express that the
best option on hearing the cases would be decided after holding
consultations with legal experts, top brass in CID and police
department.
Cyanide Mohan appeared in
the Mysore Fast Track Court and Judge Ninge Gowda Janthila personally
favoured a special Court to try all his 20 cases. “This way, the Court
not only conduct hearings at a stretch, but also dispose off cases
quickly,” the judge stressed. It was revealed that the High Court had
rejected suggestions on a special Court and had directed that the
cases should be heard in a Fast Track Court.
The Court politely turned
down the request of an applicant who expressed a desire to take
repossession of gold which was now in the custody of the police. The
court was told on how the person from Bajpe had borrowed gold
jewellery worth Rs 1 lakh from the applicant on the pretext of wearing
them to a marriage.
The applicant was informed
that the jewellery which formed a part of crucial evidence was in safe
custody and will be handed over to it’s rightful owner after the
disposal of the case.
Cyanide Mohan who was
presented in Mysore Court in connection with a Cyanide poisoning case
on Friday, returned to city on Saturday noon, resulting in his
conspicuous absence during the hearing held on Saturday
Serial killer Mohan Kumar brought to Kodagu
The Times of India
November 2, 2009
MADIKERI: Serial killer Mohan Kumar, who confessed
to have committed about 20 murders, was brought to Kodagu by the South
Canara police.
The accused was taken to Kushalnagar and Madikeri
for investigation. He confessed to have killed five women in Kodagu.
He said he killed four women at Madikeri bus stand
and one at Kushalnagar. He admitted to have killed Sharada from Puttur
on January 23, 2009, Baby Nayak of Bantwal on January 3, 2009 and
Vinutha from Puttur on September 17, 2009. The details of the fourth
death is yet to be ascertained. He confessed to have killed
Vijayalakshmi of Kasaragod on February 29, 2009 at Kushalnagar bus
stand.
ACP Chandragupta and his team brought the serial
killer from Puttur. Finding that Mohan's head was bandaged, the press
asked the police about the injury. The police stated that the accused
tried to bang his head against a wall in the prison due to regret,
injuring his forehead.
Mangalore: Serial Killer Mohan Kumar Confesses
to 20th Murder
Daijiworld.com
November 1, 2009
MANGALORE:
Mohan Kumar, who has confessed to killing 19 women by giving them
cyanide, according to the police, has confessed to killing another
woman in Bangalore in 2007.
Kumar confessed that he had killed Poornima (35)
after her parents identified him at the Bantwal divisional police
station on Saturday. Superintendent of Police A.S. Rao told The Hindu
that Poornima was a resident of Manjeshwar in Kerala. After reading
reports about the crime committed by Kumar, Poornima’s parents decided
to visit Bantwal. When Kumar was presented before them, they
immediately identified him as the person who had approached them
seeking their permission to marry Poornima. Kumar is said to have
confessed to his 20th murder immediately.
This case marks a departure in the modus operandi
of Kumar, according to Mr. Rao. In other cases, Kumar never appeared
before anybody who knew the victims. Kumar is said to have told the
police that he took Poornima to Bangalore and they checked into a
lodge in the Majestic area in Upparpet police station limits, where he
killed her.
However, the investigating officers have not been
able to locate the unnatural death report that would have been filed
in case Poornima’s body was found in Upparpet police station limits.
Also, as in several other cases, Poornima’s family failed to register
a “missing person report” in the police station.
Caught: Teacher who killed 18 women
October 29, 2009
Mohan Kumar (45), a physical education teacher who
allegedly became a serial killer, was caught by the Mangalore police
for killing 18 women and robbing them of jewellery over the last five
years. The police stumbled upon him while investigating the case of
Anitha, who went missing from her hometown Bantwal in Mangalore
district on June 17. Anitha was Kumar’s 18th victim.
Inspector General of Police (western range) Gopal B
Hosur said, "Kumar would first befriend girls with the line Do I know
you? I have seen you somewhere."
If the girl responded positively, Kumar would
introduce himself and befriend her posing as an eligible bachelor.
After a couple of meetings, he would propose and
persuade the girl to elope with him to a nearby town. He would then
spend a night with the girl in a lodge, promising to marry her at a
temple the next day.
Next, Kumar would take the girl to a nearby bus
stand and make her take two cyanide pills, claiming that they were
contraceptive pills. He would warn the girls that they were likely to
vomit after consuming the pills and so it would be better if they
swallowed the pills in the washroom of the bus stand.
"The women would take the tablets and within
minutes drop dead. He would then flee from there taking gold valuables
from them," the IG said.
Ten of the murders took place at Mysore bus stand,
three at Madikeri bus stand, two at Hassan bus stand, two at Bangalore
bus stand and one at Kollur temple in Udupi district.
On finding the bodies, the local police would
invariably register it as a suicide due to a love affair gone awry.
But when the Bantwal police probed his link with Anitha, he was caught.
Hosur said, "We have verified all his confessions
and found dead bodies of women in different places like Mysore,
Bangalore and Madikeri."
Superintendent of Police A S Rao said, "The
arrested person is unable to recollect the names of some girls. There
are chances that the investigation will reveal more victims."
Who is mohan?
Mohan Kumar alias Anand is a resident of Kanyana in
Bantwal taluk, near Mangalore. He was a physical education teacher in
Kanyana.
He joined the service in 1980 on a temporary basis.
He had divorced his first wife while his second and
third wives lived in separate homes.
After being sacked in 2003, Kumar allegedly hit
upon the idea of luring young women, having sex with them, killing
them and robbing them of their valuables for quick money.
Parallels with ‘Cyanide’ Mallika
Mohan Kumar’s horrific tale of crime is similar to
Mallika aka Cyanide Mallika alias Kempamma alias Jayamma who poisoned
over 10 women and robbed them of their valuables. Mallika, who started
her crime spree in October 1999, was finally caught by the Bangalore
police on Dec ember 30, 2007, while she was trying to sell stolen
jewellery. Her modus operandi was to trap women in distress and take
them to temples and lace their food with cyanide. After killing the
women, she would decamp with their jewellery. All her victims were
found in temples, while Kumar would also allegedly lure his victims to
temples at major cities like Bangalore and Mysore.
Mallika began her killing spree after incurring a
huge loss in the chit fund business and also separating from her
husband. Kumar’s criminal career is said to have begun in 2000, when
he tried to throw a girl who refused to marry him into the Nethravati
river. A witness called the police and he was detained on attempted
murder charges. Though he was released on bail, the criminal offence
lost him his school job. In 2003, he began his alleged serial killing
spree.
Director General and Inspector General of Police
Ajai Kumar Singh said in a release that the case was a rude awakening
for young ladies falling into the trap of such offenders, especially
since the victims had not informed their family about the issues.
Bantwal:
Serial Killer Mohan Kumar Attempts to Commit Suicide in Toilet
Daijiworld Media Network - Bantwal (SP)
October 25, 2009
Bantwal: Toilets, which witnessed
the killings of girls by serial killer Mohan Kumar, would have
witnessed another death, in the form of suicide by Mohan himself. On
Saturday, he reportedly tried to commit suicide in the toilet of the
rural police station here, police sources said.
At around 5.30 am on Saturday October 24, the
policemen were waiting outside the toilet, after allowing Mohan Kumar
to go in to relieve himself. They grew suspicious after hearing some
sound from inside. On opening the door, they found that Mohan had been
banging his head against the tiled wall of the toilet, in an attempt
to kill himself. His head was injured and blood was oozing out
profusely. He was taken to Bantwal hospital, where his wound was
closed by applying stitches. He was later admitted into the district
Wenlock Hospital for advanced treatment.
He was later taken to some places where he had
reportedly pledged the ornaments of the girls he had killed earlier.
On Sunday, he has been taken to Hassan to gather more details about
the murders he had committed there.
Mangalore:
The Many Missing Links to Serial Killer Mohan Kumar Case
by Florine Roche & Rajesh Shetty -
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore
October 23, 2009
Mangalore: The confession of killing of 18 women by
serial killer Mohan Kumar has sent shock waves among the people of
undivided Dakshina Kannada District for whom the revelation is yet to
sink in. That Mohan Kumar could get away with his heinous crimes for
the past 5 years is shocking and has giving rise to many speculations
on the collective failure of the law enforcers and also that of the
society.
That Mohan Kumar was picking up his victims with
excessive care is evident from the fact that most of his victims were
from the low socio-economic background and were in the age group of
late 20s and early 30s. A glib talker Mohan zeroed in on the victims
in public places and charmed his way into their hearts with the
promise of marriage without dowry. Puttur assistant superintendent of
police (ASP) Dr Chandragupta who led the investigation that netted in
Mohan Kumar says “The idea of lack of marital prospects must have
prompted them to acquiesce to the idea of marrying without dowry”.
Lack of co-ordination
While the police cannot absolve themselves from the
responsibility of their failure the lack of information from the
parents of victims and sometimes misinformation (not deliberate)
resulted in giving a long rope to Mohan Kumar. Dakshina Kannada
superintendent of police Dr Subramaneyeshwar Rao speaking to
Daijiworld said “we are focusing on strengthening the co-ordination
between districts with regard to sharing information especially with
regard to investigations into unidentified bodies and those cases of
missing persons. A little effort on the part of the police in finding
the common link of girls missing with cash and jewellery and their
mysterious deaths in toilets, many of them in Mysore police limits
would have pointed the needle of suspicion towards Mohan Kumar long
back,” he said.
When asked whether it was the lack of effort on the
part of police in solving these cases of 18 murders he said “it is
easy to assume that the police have failed when one comes to the nitty-gritty
of such cases. One has to understand the difficulties involved in such
cases especially when family members of victims do not come forward
with adequate information and sometimes misinform the police that
completely dilutes the investigation. In the case of the victims of
Mohan Kumar many parents were oblivious that their daughter had an
affair with him. Sometimes the information provided about their
affairs created more problems than solving it”. He however said that
the police had zeroed in on him much before the Anitha case. It was
the Anitha murder case that finally nailed him resulting in his arrest.
Communal overtones to missing case
But for the communal overtones attained by the
missing case of Anitha of Bantwal taluk when Hindu organizations
exerted pressure on the police, suspecting her missing under
mysterious circumstances to be the case of the much talked about ‘love
jehad’ that paved the way for setting up a special squad under Puttur
ASP Dr Chandragupta to go into the details of her murder, many more
vulnerable girls would have paid with their lives in the hands of this
serial killer. That he could hoodwink young girls many a times, half
his age, shows the vulnerability of these girls coming from low socio-economic
background, who are exploited by people like Mohan Kumar.
With more skeletons coming out of the cupboard
everyday the Mohan Kumar case has certainly created a kind of fear
psychosis. It is not the time for blame game but to focus on how to
take preventive measures so that we can avoid such incidents in future.
Dr Subrahmanyeshwar says “from the point of view of the public parents
have to have some idea about the people with whom their daughters are
in contact with. Young girls should take their parents and siblings
into confidence and give some information about the men they are in
contact with. This is a wake up call for all of us, the public and the
police. On our part we will focus on strengthening the inter-district
co-ordination in solving unnatural deaths and suicides cases. This
case has also strengthens the need to investigate thoroughly all
suicide cases or in cases of unidentified bodies”.
He called upon the people to help the police by
providing as much information as possible when a person is missing.
Sometimes parents give an old school photograph of girls which is
difficult to match with the decomposed bodies further complicating the
case. Whenever people are found missing, the complaint to this effect
has to be filed immediately which might help the police to obtain
vital clues.
While the brutal incidents involving Mohan are
coming out public wonders whether there is enough evidence to send him
to the jaws of death. A police official on condition of anonymity says
that there is no guarantee that Mohan Kumar could be implicated in the
cases. There is hardly any evidence to show his involvement in the
murders and he may just retract his earlier confessions.
Eminent criminal lawyer Padma Prasad Hegde however
says “there is enough evidence to put him behind the bars or award a
death penalty to him. The fact that he was the last to be seen with
the victims is enough for the courts to implicate him. He has also
confessed to his crimes leading to the recovery of many valuables and
linking the deaths of other missing women. There is also practically
no explanation from him on why the police charged him. As per the
Supreme Court directives these evidences are enough to punish him in
the court of law”.
It is very disheartening that many young girls have
paid with their lives falling prey to the lecherousness of this
loquacious, street-smart marauder who exploited them to the tilt for
his own sexual shenanigans. While we pride ourselves on belonging to
the land of the intelligent and the educated incidents of this nature
is flak on the ills plaguing us! The public and the law enforces have
to work in co-ordination to ensure such incidents do not recur.
Mangalore:
No. 19: Police Uncover Yet Another Victim of Serial Killer Mohan
By Mounesh Vishwakarma - Daijiworld
Media Network—Bantwal (RD/CN)
October 23, 2009
Bantwal:
The name of yet another woman has been added to the list of victims of
serial rapist and killer Mohan on Friday October 23.
The sleuths investigating the serial murders
stumbled upon the case of 26-year-old Shashikala who was reported
missing at Konaje police station, located on the outskirts of
Mangalore, on October 21, 2005.
Shashikala is the daughter of Narayan Madivala,
resident of Kaniyoor in Balepuni village, near here.
She worked as an assistant in a children’s
nursery. She left her home on October 21, 2005, to attend a nursery
assistants’ meeting and had been missing since then.
Though a case was registered, no major breakthrough
was made until the police obtained information from Mohan during
interrogation.
The dead body of Shashikala was found in Bangalore
and a case of suicide was registered at Upparapete police station.
The postmortem report confirmed that it was suicide by consuming
cyanide. This matches the modus operandi of the serial killer.
Mohan confessed to killing Shashikala after he was
brought to the rural police station here and her parents identified
their daughter from the pictures in the police records.
The investigators are also looking at three other
cases of missing women in Dakshina Kannada district, though the
involvement of Mohan has not been established in these cases during
interrogation.
“The probe has revealed that 12 missing women are
victims of serial killer Mohan,” said Puttur ASP Dr Chandra Gupta.
Shantha of Kankanady, Vinutha of Puttur, Sharada of
Kedila, Shashikala of Kariyangala, Baby Nayak of Peraje, Anita of
Barimar, Hema of Mittoor, Vijayalaxmi of Kasargod, Yashoda of
Madantyar, Pushpa of Mulleria, Sunanda of Pervaje, now Shashikala of
Kaniyoor, have been identified by their respective parents from photos
in police records, informed the police.
Bantwal: Serial Killer Remanded to Police
Custody
Daijiworld Media Nework - Bantwal (SP)
October 23, 2009
Bantwal:
On being produced before the court at B C Road on Thursday October 22,
serial killer Mohan Kumar alias Anand was remanded to police custody
till October 27. During the time he was at the court, he behaved
decently and it is gathered that he responded to the police
questioning without any hesitation, remorse or doubts.
Local circle inspector Nanjunde Gowda and Puttur
assistant superintendent of police, Chandragupta, opined that the fact
that he always used mobiles registered in the names of other people,
had rendered the task of the policemen in tracing the murderer
difficult. After he killed a girl, he used to make use of the mobile
he recovered from the girl so eliminated, to deceive and fleece the
other girls, it is gathered.
It is apparent, that in most cases, the girls were
from poor families and the families did not have the money power or
influence to sustain pressure on the policemen for a detailed
investigation. In most cases, they believed their wards had committed
suicide. Strangely, the families had no clue that the girls from their
homes were having an affair with Mohan. Because of this, even though
there had been some clues in the past about Mohan's involvement in the
murders, no in-depth investigations were conducted. For example,
Sunanda (20) from Vaipala near Bellare in Sullia taluk, had started
vomitting on February 11, 2008 at Mysore bus stand and had died
thereafter. Even though her family was traced with the help of the
mobile found in her possession, it was recorded as a death due to
epileptic seizures. The family said, Sunanda had taken with her gold
ornaments and Rs 65,000 in cash. The post mortem report that was
reportedly received this week, after a gap of 20 months, said that her
death was caused by cyanide consumption.
In the case of Kaveri from Peraje in Sullia taluk,
her family members came to know that she had died, only after the
media brought out the story of Mohan on Thursday. Although her body
was recovered in Mysore earlier, the policemen had failed to find out
her identity. The family had hoped that Kaveri, who had gone missing,
will surface some time. Kaveri, it is learnt, was having a mobile sim
given by her brother, Sridhar. Mohan, who did not know that the sim
was in the name of Sridhar, had called up Anita. The family of Anita,
who traced Anita's inward calls, found out the address of Sridhar and
had beaten up Sridhar, thinking him to be the one who had called Anita.
Sridhar said that the family members of Anita, who took him away to
Bantwal in the guise of having to tell him something, had denuded him,
beaten him up and laid him across the railway tracks. He said, he
somehow escaped from the tracks, borrowed a lungi and shirt from some
kind people and had then filed complaint with the Bantwal policemen
about the incident.
Kaveri had left home on March 10 with a gold chain
borrowed from neighbourers, golden rings of her brothers and Rs 40,000
in cash. The policemen, who delved deep into the issue while tracking
Sridhar's case, realized that Mohan had made calls to the girls. When
they approached Mohan thereafter, he was more than willing to confess
to the killings he was involved with. The gentlemanly behaviour,
innocent face and decent demeanours of Mohan had succeeded to hoodwink
his family, wives, girls whom he murdered and the policemen alike for
a long time, till his facade was torn off by the policemen, but not
before nearly 20 girls had lost their lives. It is a mystery, however,
that Mohan, who did not have a decent job in the recent past and was
not young, succeeded in convincing 18 girls to marry him, in addition
to the three who actually married him, at a time when several young
boys are finding it hard to get girls who are willing to marry them.
Mangalore:
Neighbours, Family, Refuse to Accept Mohan as Serial Killer
Daijiworld Media Network—Mangalore (RS/CN)
October 22, 2009
Mangalore:
A common man, a teacher by profession, is accused of being
the murderer of 18 girls. People who are closely associated with him
like his two wives, mother, mother-in-law, and neighbours, maintain
that he lacked the ruthlessness that would have to be characteristic
of a killer.
The reason why Mohan Kumar alias Bhaskara alias
Ananda turned into a vicious killer is not clear but police records
indicate that he had a greed for money, gold, and girls.
He has been termed a psychopath but his pattern of
activities seems contrary to this. There were no indications all along
that he suffered from any kind of psychological disorder.
Mohan, a resident of Kanyana in Bantwal taluk,
never did anything that could have evoked the suspicion to his
neighbours over the past five years. Even his two wives were unaware
of his being a killer until his arrest.
His family wonders when he might have gone to
Mysore, Madikeri, Bangalore, or any other place to kill the girls.
Third Wife Confused
His third wife, who resides in a village near
Deralakatte, said that he never harassed her and was a loving husband
who shared all his thoughts with her.
“I have never seen any cyanide in his possession. I
used to check his handbag which contains a small mirror and some
papers. He had a small plastic bottle filled with talcum powder.
Whenever it was empty, he filled it with talcum powder from the actual
container”, she said.
“I gave him money several times after borrowing
from my ‘Swasahaya’ account. If he was connected to those killings, he
would have earned a lot of money. Last year he bought me a golden
chain. But now, the police have taken all the ornaments; mine as well
as those which he gave me”, she added.
“Police took all the records from our house
including a telephone book which contains our relatives’ contact
numbers. After the arrest, we were not able to contact anyone, not
even a lawyer”, added Mohan’s third wife.
“I met him at the office where I was working and
friendship turned to love following which we got married”, she said.
She is from a reputed family and her grandfather
was Patel of that village but since then her family has suffered due
to land disputes with neighbours.
She said that in the early hours of Tuesday October
20 around 3.30 am, a police team arrived at the house. By midnight the
next day, they handcuffed Mohan and took him away telling her “Mohan
killed several girls".
No Bad Habits
“He never smoked or drank alcohol. In my wedded
life only once did I see him bring home a bottle of alcohol and drink
it”, claimed the third wife adding that it was just reluctance to
drink at a bar that prompted him to do so.
Mohan’s second wife, who lives in Uppala, said that
the she was not aware of his links to the girls and the killings. “He
was in my house every two days, and spent the rest of the time with
his third wife”, she said.
She recalled that when she came to know of his
third marriage, she quarreled with him but he convinced her and she
stopped quarrelling and compromised.
Both the wives tried to recall that he had a loan
account for Rs 3.5 lac in a certain bank.
Mohan has two boys by his second wife, studying in
classes seven and third, respectively, while the third wife has a
daughter aged three and a son who is 10 months old.
A shopkeeper near Mohan’s house said that it was
unimaginable that such a decent man would kill 18 girls.
His wives as well as his mother and mother-in-law
said that he suffers from tuberculosis and acidity. He couldn’t take
up any hard work but worked in a paddy filed and arecanut plantation
at his third wife’s house.
His second wife said he kept accounts of every
rupee spent and noted even daily expenses. She claimed he was a simple
man and worried about unnecessary expenses.
She questioned as to how such a man could be
accused of being greedy for ornaments and money.
Mohan’s 60-year-old mother spent the whole day
pining for her son. “If anything happens to him I will not live long
and will end my life by committing suicide”, said the mother who lives
with her eldest son and his family.
She added that one of her sons had stopped visiting
after he had had a love marriage. She also has a daughter and a
son-in-law.
Mohan, whose name at birth was Bhaskara, is a Dalit.
His mother wept and kept insisting that her son is innocent and has
been framed.
“He took the rice and kerosene oil which I got from
the ration store last week. He took it to his house at Uppala where
his wife and children live”, she said.
Mohan lost his father in his childhood and his
mother said that he is a loving son who cares for her all the time.
His neighbours stated that they found it hard to
believe that Mohan was a murderer many times over.
In 2003, he was offered a teaching job at Angri
School but refused to work for reasons unknown and that ended his
teaching profession of 23 years.
He served as temporary teacher in various places in
Puttur taluk after finishing his pre-university education.
Teacher turns serial killer
The Times of India
October 22, 2009
MANGALORE: Eighteen young women aged 22-35-years
were the victims of teacher turned serial killer Mohan Kumar. His area
of operation spanned the bus stations across Mysore, Madikeri, Hassan,
Bangalore, and the Kollur temple. His modus operandi was to prey on
young unmarried women luring them with a promise to marry them, have
sex with them, and kill them by making them take cyanide as an anti-pregnancy
measure.
When police started investigating the case of
Anitha (22) of Barimaru in Bantwal who went missing on June 17, they
got more than they bargained for. The special team investigating the
case tracked the mobile phone of Anitha. A study of the calls from
Anitha's phone revealed they were made to another girl, who was also
reported missing and were able to track a person who was using the
cell phone of a particular missing girl.
It was this person who led the police team headed
by Puttur assistant superintendent of police Chandragupta to Mohan
Kumar at his residence at Deralakatte near here. SP A S Rao said Mohan,
educated up to PUC, joined government service as a teacher in a
primary school on temporary basis in 1980. After being in and out of
service and getting transferred to many places in the district for 23
years, he quit his job in 2003.
Mangalore:
Serial Killer Who Accounted for 18 girls Arrested
Daijiworld Media Network- Mangalore (RS/SP)
October 21, 2009
Mangalore:
A serial killer, who has allegedly confessed to having killed 18 girls
during the past five years, was arrested by the Bantwal police on
Wednesday October 21 from near Deralakatte near here, informed
inspector general of police (western range), Gopal Hosur.
The arrested man, identified as Mohan Kumar alias
Ananda (46), is a resident of Kanyana in Bantwal taluk. The policemen
said that he has confessed to have committed 18 murders, and that all
of his victims were girls. The offender had been serving as a teacher
in a primary school near Angadi in Kanyana in Bantwal taluk, on a
temporary basis from 1980 and quit his job in the year 2003. After
quitting his job, he got engaged in criminal offences since 2005,
snuffing away the lives of 18 young girls till 2009.
This has come as an extremely shocking and
heartbreaking news for the civilized society, as the killer targetted
innocent, unsuspecting girls from the poor families, and trapped them
with the intention of raping them, said Gopal Hosur, adding that the
alleged killer used to earn the confidence of the girls by offering to
marry them. He married the girls who got trapped by his innocent
façade and sweet words. As pre-planned, he would kill the girls a day
after the marriage by offering them cyanide tablet, claiming it to be
a medicine to prevent pregnancy.
The investigation of a case related to a missing
girl named Anitha (22) resident of Barimaru village, gave the
policemen, clues about the involvement of the offender. Working on the
clues they got in this case, the Bantwal police traced the mobile list
and got the contacts of the girl and found that the mobile set of that
girl was used by this offender and later he was traced, said
superintendent of police (SP), Dr A Subrahmanyeshwar Rao.
Out of the 18 girls, four belonged to Bantwal
taluk, two to Sullia, three to Puttur, one to Moodbidri, two to
Beltangady and one to Mangalore, while the other five were from
Kasaragod district. The murders were committed at various places like
ten at Mysore bus stand, three at Madikeri bus stand, two at Hassan
bus stand, two at Bangalore bus stand and one at Kollur temple in
Udupi district. The arrested claims that he has been unable to
recollect the names of some of his victims. As such, the policemen
believe that there are chances of more murder cases emerging after the
investigation, said the SP.
The offender has confessed that he used to commit
the crime with the sole objective of gaining access to the jewellery
worn by the girls and also to satiate his sexual urge, said
Chandragupta, assistant superintendent of police, Puttur division, who
led the investigation along with Bantwal police inspector, Nanjunde
Gowda, sub inspector Shivaprakash and his team.
The offender had married thrice and divorced his
first wife, who was from Shiradi and the second and third wives live
in separate houses, one at Deralakatte and other one at Uppala in
Kasaragod district.
Statement by the SP:
`The modus operandi employed by the arrested is
finding a target and immediately approaching the girls, by claiming
that she resembles someone whom he knows well and then striking a
conversation about her caste and family back ground. And finally he
used to offer to marry the girl without dowry. While a few girls
rejected his proposal, in most of the cases he approached, he
succeeded in his plan, said the SP.
One fine day, he would invite the girl to a temple
to complete the marriage rituals. After the ritual, he accommodated
the girls at a lodge and forced them to have sex with him. The next
morning, he used to take the girl to the local bus stand on the
pretext of visiting a temple and before leaving the lodge, he used to
ask the girls to remove the jewellery. At the bus stand, he would tell
the girl that they had unprotected sex the previous night and
therefore, demanded them to consume a medicine in power form he used
to claim, would prevent the risk of pregnancy, inside the toilet of
the bus stand. The innocent girls used to trust him and consumed the
powder given by him, without knowing that it was cyanide, he explained.
After the girls collapsed due to the poison they
had consumed, he managed to run away, and the girls were shifted to
hospitals, he said, adding that these cases were registered as
unnatural deaths and in most of the cases, these were recorded as
unsolved cases.
These incidents happened at Mysore, Madikeri,
Bangalore and Hassan bus stands and one near the Kollur temple, he
said.
The gold ornaments belonging to Anitha, one of the
missing girls, have been seized from him along with four mobile phones
and eight tablets, he explained, adding that the provider of cyanide
to the killer will soon be arrested, citing him as the abettor of the
crime.
The unfortunate girls who were slain by the
culprits were, Baby Nayak (25) resident of Peraje Near Sullia,
Sharada (24) Kedila in Puttur taluk, Kaveri (30) Sampaje in Sullia,
Pushpa(26) Mulleria in Kasaragod, Vinutha (24) Puttur, Hema (24)
Mittur in Bantwal, Anitha (22) Barimar, Yashoda (26) resident of
Madanthyar in Belthangady, Vijayalakshmi (26) Kasaragod, Sarojini (27)
Uppala, Shashikala (28) Kariangala in Bantwal, Sunanda (25) Peruvaje
near Sullia, Lelavathi (32)resident of Vamada Padav, Shantha (35)
resident of Kankanady, Vanitha (22) Nelyady and Sujatha (28) Mucchur
near Bajpe. The names of two more girls, both of whom are from
Kasargod, are yet to be ascertained from the offender.
