'Cyanide Mohan' gets life sentence in 20th murder case

Mangaluru: "Cyanide" Mohan, a serial killer who has murdered several women using the deadly chemical after befriending and raping them, has been sentenced by a court here to life imprisonment for raping and murdering a woman from Kerala in 2009.

Sixth Additional District and Sessions Court Judge Sayeednunnisa pronounced the quantum of sentence on Wednesday.

The 57-year old Mohan was convicted of murder on Saturday.

The case is the 20th and last in the series of murder cases against him.

Earlier, he had been awarded the death sentence in five cases and life imprisonment in others. Two of the death penalties were later commuted to life imprisonment.

In this case, Mohan had been charged with enticing a 25-year old woman from Kasargod to accompany him on the promise of marriage, and took her to Bengaluru.

He stayed in a lodge with the woman, raped and killed her the next day by giving her a cyanide-laced tablet making her believe that it was a contraceptive pill.

He used the same modus operandi in all the 20 cases against him.

The judge awarded life sentence and Rs 25,000 fine for murder under Section 302 of IPC, ten years and Rs 5,000 for abduction, ten years and Rs 5,000 for feeding poison, seven years and Rs 5,000 for rape, five years and Rs 5,000 for robbing jewellery and imprisonment and fines for cheating and destroying evidence.

The court examined 46 witnesses, 89 documentary evidence and 31 assets. Of the gold ornaments taken away by Mohan, a pendant was recovered from the residence of his second wife, which was directed to be given to the victim''s mother.