Mangalore: The Fourth Additional District and Sessions Court which had earlier this week found serial killer Cyanide Mohan Kumar guilty of murdering three women, on Saturday sentenced him to be hanged till dead in all the three cases.
Mohan Kumar, a school teacher by profession, is accused of luring and murdering 20 women by administering them cyanide. Due to this modus operandi, he came to be called Cyanide Mohan.
Of the 20 cases, hearing of three murder cases — Anitha, Leelavathi and Sunanda had completed earlier this week and Judge B.K. Naik had found Mohan guilty of murdering the three. Other 17 cases are still in the court.
The Judge had reserved the quantum of punishment in the three cases for Saturday. Considering this case as rarest of the rare, the judge declared death sentence to Mohan in all the three cases in a packed court room. The judge set aside Mohan’s plea for leniency. Mohan had cited family reasons and prayed for leniency.
“He deserves death. There is no justification to provide leniency. He is now realising the importance of life and is struggling for survival,” the judge observed while delivering the judgment.
“This is a case that pricks and shocks not just the judicial conscience but also of the society,” he added. After declaring the sentence, the judge broke the nib of his pen.
Mohan was arrested on October 21, 2009 and the trial against him was started on November 21, 2011. Mohan allegedly lured girls and after indulging in sex with them, he used to murder them by administering cyanide.
He would make them consume cyanide stating that it was medicine to prevent pregnancy. Mohan would then rob the gold jewellery and flee. This is said to be one of the rare cases where a person has been sentenced death in three cases on the same day.
