Mangalore: Neighbours, Family, Refuse to Accept Mohan as Serial Killer
Daijiworld Media Network—Mangalore (RS/CN)
Mangalore, Oct 22: 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.
Bantwal: Serial Killer Remanded to Police Custody
Daijiworld Media Nework - Bantwal (SP)
Bantwal, Oct 23: 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.