Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Oct 23: Cyanide Mohan, notorious for winning over the confidence of unmarried girls, taking away their ornaments and then eliminating them by feeding them cyanide tablets by faking them as anti-pregnancy pills, has been held guilty of murdering his 17th victim. Mohan has been accused of murdering about 20 girls in similar faction and no one had doubted his involvement in the murders till he killed all of them.

The court is likely to pronounce its verdict on quantum of sentence on October 24.

The charges of abduction, rape, murder, feeding of poison, robbing of ornaments, cheating, destruction of evidence etc have been proved against Mohan, the court said. With this, all the charges levelled against Mohan in this case were found to have been proved in this case.

Mohan had got introduced to a lady working as assistant in the Anganwadi centre at Balepuni in Bantal waluk on August 21, 2005 at B C Road bus stand. He introduced himself as Anand to her, and in course of time, claimed to be belonging to her caste and offered to marry her. He asked her to come to him with all her ornaments. The lady did as he advised on October 21. She followed his advice, and lied to her colleagues that she would be on a picnic trip to Sringeri. Mohan escorted the lady to Bengaluru from B C Road, where a room was hired in a lodge there. After having sex with the lady at night in the lodge room, he led her to Majestic bus stand there. He handed over cyanide tablet to her by claiming it to be birth control pill and sent her into the bathroom before going away. She consumed the pill and collapsed and some people in the bus stand took her to primary health centre where she was pronounced brought dead. On October 27, post-mortem was conducted and the body was disposed as there were no claimants. A case of unnatural death was filed in the police station, and the post-mortem report confirmed that she had consumed cyanide.

After giving the pill to the lady, Mohan had escaped after visiting the lodge and taking away the ornaments of the lady which he sold at Mangaluru. The family members of the lady searched for the lady and learnt that she had boarded a bus with a man that day. On October 25, a missing complaint was filed in Konaje police station.

During the interrogation of Mohan, who was held on the basis of suspicion on September 21, 2009, he confessed to have murdered a lady from, Balepuni. The then police inspector of Konaje, Lingappa, had conducted preliminary investigation. Corps of Detectives inspector, Nazeer Sab, who continued the investigation, had filed charge sheet.

Judge of the court, Sayeedunnisa, who conducted hearing, examined 41 witnesses and 67 documents, came to the conclusion that the charges were proved. Public prosecutor Judith O M Crasta had appeared on behalf of the prosecution in the case.