Mangaluru serial killer found guilty for 20th murder

Mangaluru, June 21 (IANS) In yet another sensational case in Karnataka, a local court found serial killer Mohan Kumar guilty of raping and murdering a woman, who was allegedly his 20th victim, a police official said on Sunday.

"The 6th additional and sessions court judge Sayeedunnisa on Saturday found Mohan Kumar (57) guilty of murdering the woman by giving her a cyanide pill after raping her at a lodge in Bengaluru in July 2009," Sullia police inspector M.R. Harish told IANS on phone.

The judge will pronounce the quantum of punishment in the case against Mohan under section 302 of the IPC on June 24.

The 25-year-old victim, who hailed from Sullia, about 90 km southwest of this port city in Dakshina Kannada district, was a cook in a ladies hostel at Kasargod in Kerala across the state border, when she got acquainted with Kumar, a teacher then, who promised to marry her.

Kumar is lodged at Hindalga central jail at Belagavi in the state's northwest region, after he was convicted and sentenced to death in 4 murder cases and life imprisonment in 15 similar cases over the last decade.

Kumar was arrested in this case in October 2009 after the victim's family recognised him when his photo was published in a local newspaper following a missing complaint her younger sister filed in the Sullia police station over a decade ago.

According to the charge-sheet, the victim left Kasargod on July 8, 2009 to visit a temple at her home town Sullia from where Mohan took her to Bengaluru on the pretext of marrying her and had physical relationship with her in a city lodge where he kept her for three days.

"When the family members enquired about the victim three days later, Mohan told them that they both were married and would return to Sullia soon. He did not, however, allow them to speak to the victim," the charge-sheet said.

"Kumar took the victim to the bus stand for returning to Sullia and gave her a cyanide tablet saying it was a contraceptive pill to prevent pregnancy. She collapsed in a toilet near the bus stand soon after consuming it while Kumar vanished from the spot. A constable rushed her to a state-run hospital where she was declared brought dead," Harish recalled.

Autopsy of the victim revealed traces of cyanide in her body.

In earlier cases too, Kumar was convicted of luring women who were unable to pay dowry or find compatible husbands to marry.

"Kumar's modus operandi was to kill them by giving cyanide pills, claiming they were contraceptives, and rob them of their jewellery," added Harish.