Karnataka serial killer who gave cyanide to lover in a toilet gets a life sentence

A serial killer who had sex with a woman and gave her cyanide saying it was a contraceptive pill has been sentenced to life imprisonment.
For representational purposes only.
For representational purposes only.

MANGALURU: A serial killer who had sex with a woman and gave her cyanide saying it was a contraceptive pill has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a local court in Mangaluru on Friday.

The man, known by the name of Cyanide Mohan, is accused of killing 20 women in different parts of Karnataka. On Wednesday, judge D T Puttarangaswamy of the sixth additional district magistrate’s court held him guilty of the murder of a woman from Pattemajalu in Puttur taluk of Karnataka.

Cyanide Mohan lured the woman to Puttur with a promise to get her a job on September 17, 2009. From there, he took her to Madikeri and had sex with her in a lodge the same day. He then gave her a pill purportedly to prevent pregnancy. The woman took the cyanide-laced pill in the women's toilet at the KSRTC bus stand in Madikeri and fell dead. Mohan then stripped her of her gold ornaments and fled. 

By awarding a life term to the convict, the judge overrode public prosecutor Judith O M Crasta’s plea for the death sentence. He directed the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) to pay compensation to the family of the victim.

Mohan is accused in 20 cases of murder – all women. He has been convicted in three cases previously and was awarded death in each of them. The death sentences are pending confirmation in the Karnataka High Court. Of the remaining 16 cases against Cyanide Mohan, five are in the final stage of trial.  

After the sentencing on Friday, public prosecutor Judith Crasta told mediapersons that as Mohan’s crime were heinous, he ought to have been given the death sentence. She said she would appeal for a death sentence in the High Court. 

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com