Cyanide Mohan goes on trial in Mangalore

Mangalore, November 21: More than two years after his arrest, serial killer Cyanide Mohan went on trial in a local court in Mangalore.

Once a science teacher, 48 year old Mohan alias Anand was caught by police exactly 25 months ago on October 21, 2009 for allegedly raping and murdering 20 young women in a span of five years - for gain.

After a lengthy preliminary hearings that began from February, the Fast Track Court of the city in September had scheduled the trial to begin from November 21.

It is learnt that the Court took up Barimaar Anita’s murder case in the beginning of the trial.

The CID had filed charge sheets in all 20 cases against him. While 13 charge sheets were before the Fast Track Court, the remaining were filed in different courts in Mysore, Hassan, Madikeri and Bangalore.

It is learnt that CID has already submitted all 20 charge sheets to the court for offences under a slew of sections of IPC, including 302 (murder), 376 (rape), 328 (administering drug with intention to harm), 394 (causing hurt in robbery), 366 (inducing women to comple her to marry) 201 (furnishing false information) among others.

To ensure a fool-proof case, CID has lined up, not less than 55 witnesses in each case.

Teacher turns killer

Mohan was a teacher in a government school and had married thrice. In 2003, he quit his job on sensing the lucre that crime can fetch him, given his thirst for sex and money. His modus operandi was simple. After scouting out a young woman in a public place, Mohan would introduce himself as a government teacher. He would then begin wooing her.

Later, he would plan a trip with her to some place outside the district limits. Once at the hotel room, Mohan, with promises of love and marriage, would seduce the woman into having unprotected sex. He would convince them to swallow a birth-control pill—only that the material would, in reality, be cyanide. Once dead, she would robbed of her jewellery and rest of the possession.

The strategy was replicated 20 times—and successfully at that.

Among the victims was a certain Leelavathi. This woman of Kudambettu village was thought to have joined the Naxal movement when she went missing in 2005.

The police even placed a reward on her head. Another was the case of Anitha—of Barimaru village.

When went missing in June 2009, the Sangh Parivar claimed she was a victim of “love jihad”.

The man, by then, had spread his criminal activities—geographically.

In fact, he is believed to have killed women from districts across the state. Since the police in one district never shared information about unclaimed bodies with other districts, Mohan’s brutal murders went unchecked.