Mangalore: Cyanide Mohan held guilty in Sunanda murder case
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (DV)
Updated: Wednesday December 18
Mangalore, Dec 18: The fourth additional and district sessions court on Wednesday December 18 convicted Mohan Kumar, or Cyanide Mohan as he is known, in a third case, relating to the disappearance and murder of Sunanda.
On Tuesday December 17, Mohan was convicted in two cases relating murders of Anitha of Barimar, Bantwal and Leelavathi of Vamadapadav. The verdict in the third case pertaining to Sunanda was reserved for Wednesday after the judge directed the removal of section 364 and inclusion of sections 366 and 394 in the chargesheet.
Judge B K Naik pronounced Mohan guilty under sections 366,376, 328, 392, 394, 417, 302 and 201 of the IPC.
Sunanda (32), a resident of Peruvaje, Sullia went missing on February 11, 2008, and the same night, her body was found in Mysore KSRTC bus stand. Investigation revealed that Mohan had first met Sunanda at a Congress rally at Nehru Maidan, where she was with her sister and cousin. Mohan introduced himself as 'Shashidhar' and befriended her.
Mohan and Sunanda would meet each other frequently in places like Puttur, and he even told her there was a 'dosha' that prevented them from marrying, for which he would give her 'kumkum' (vermillion) as a remedy. This made her believe in him, and early morning on February 11, 2008, she left home saying that she was going to a temple in Kasargod, when in actuality she was going to meet Mohan, who had promised a job interview for her in Mysore.
Mohan took Sunanda to a lodge in Mysore and repeated his act as in cases of other 20 girls. He gave her a cyanide at the KSRTC bus stand the same evening, which killed her.
Moreover, he took her gold and gave it to Ashirwad Finance. Harish of Ashirwar Finance testified as witness during the trial. Also, the manager and the room boy of the Mysore lodge too stood as witnesses, who were 35 in all. It was learnt that on the day of Sunanda's murder, she had withdraw Rs 25,000 from a bank. Sunanda was a member of Sri Durga self-help group.
The quantum of sentence in all three cases will be pronounced on Thursday December 19.
Earlier Report: Tuesday December 17
Mangalore: Court convicts serial killer Cyanide Mohan in two cases
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (DV)
Updated
Mangalore, Dec 17: The fourth additional district and sessions court on Tuesday December 17 convicted Mohan Kumar, known as Cyanide Mohan, in second of the 20 cases of murder against him.
Judge B K Naik found Mohan guilty of murdering Leelavathi, a resident of Vamadapadav. She had gone missing on September 9, 2005.
He was convicted under sections 366, 376, 328, 392, 394, 417, 302 and 201.
Special public prosecutor Cheyabba Beary said that the modus operandi here was the same as in Anitha's case, in which he was found guilty earlier in the day. However, in Leelavathi's case, she was taken to Mysore on pretext of an interview and raped in a lodge there, and killed with cyanide pill in Mysore KSRTC bus stand.
In a third case relating to murder of Sunanda (25) of Sullia taluk, the judge reserved the verdict for Wednesday December 18. The judge asked to remove section 364 from the chargesheet, as it relates to kidnapping of minor girls, and addition of sections 366 and 394.
The quantum of judgement in all three cases will be pronounced on December 19.
Earlier Report
Mangalore: Court convicts serial killer Cyanide Mohan
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (DV)
Updated
Mangalore, Dec 17: Four years after his arrest, serial killer Mohan Kumar or Cyanide Mohan as he came to be known, was on Tuesday December 17 convicted in one of the several cases of murder.
The case relates to the murder of Anitha (22) of Barimar village in Bantwal taluk. Judgements in two others cases are expected later in the day.
The quantum of punishment will be pronounced on December 19.
Pronouncing Mohan guilty, judge B K Naik of the fourth additional district and sessions court said that Mohan had cheated girls and murdered them with intention, besides making counterfeit seals.
Mohan was convicted under sections 376, 328, 302, 392,201, 366, 394, 417, 465, 468 and 473 of IPC.
During the hearing, Mohan, who defended his case himself, said that none of the post-mortem reports had shown presence of cyanide. The judge replied that it was not a valid argument to be made at this point in the case and he should approach the higher court to put forth that point.
Mohan Kumar alias Ananda (46), a resident of Kanyana in Bantwal taluk had been serving as a teacher in a primary school near Angadi in Kanyana, on a temporary basis from 1980 and quit his job in the year 2003. After quitting his job, he took to crime in 2005, killing 21 girls in a matter of five years.
In fact, it was Anitha's case that led to the ultimate arrest of Mohan. Anitha went missing on June 17, 2009, after she left home telling her parents that he was going to a dental clinic. The locals had come out in strong protest and demanded a thorough probe into the case.
Investigation into Anitha's case led the police to arrest Mohan Kumar on October 21, 2009. It was then learnt that he had killed 20 girls, including Anitha, by giving them cyanide.
Special public prosecutor Cheyabba Beary said that on June 17, 2009, Mohan Kumar took Anitha to a lodge in Hassan on the pretext of taking her for a job interview. He told her to keep all her gold ornaments in the lodge so that she may appear as a poor girl to the interviewer, and Anitha did as told. At the KSRTC bus stand, he gave her a cyanide tablet stating it was a contraceptive. Anitha died soon after consuming it.
Mohan had taken a room in the lodge under the name of 'Sudhakar Kulal'. During investigation of the case, experts confirmed that the handwriting in the lodge register matched Mohan's.
On September 9, 2009, Mohan approached a priest in a temple and said that he had murdered women and wanted to repent for his crime. He asked the priest to suggest him a way to make penance. The priest told him that he had committed a major sin and there was no way to atone for it. This incident was taken an circumstantial evidence, and the priest too appeared as a witness.
Altogether, there were 49 witnesses in the case.
Elaborating on Mohan's modus operandi, Cheyabba Beary said that he would identify lonely girls between 20 and 30 years of age, hailing from poor families, and promise them of providing jobs. He would then take them to other districts on the pretext of job interview and rape them in lodges. He would tell them to bring all their gold initially, and later ask them to leave the ornaments in the lodge. He would then take them to the bus stand where he would give them cyanide stating that it was contraceptive to prevent pregnancy. Incidentally, all the 20 deaths happened in the public toilets of KSRTC bus stands. Only one victim managed to survive.
Also, when introducing himself to the girls, he would ask their caste, and claim to belong to the same caste and change his name accordingly. He told his victims that he was a government employee. The police when searching his house found several visiting cards under different names.
Expressing his satisfaction with the verdict, Cheyabba said that it was a lesson to all girls not to get fooled by strangers and not to believe them. He said this was the unique case he had ever come across.
The initial questioning in the case had commenced on November 21, 2011 in the then fast track court and it had continued for about a year.
The court is likely to pronounce judgements in two other cases - of Vamadapadav resident Leela and Sullia Peraje’s Sunanda - later in the day. The hearing in all three cases, including Anitha's was over on November 30.
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