Mangaluru : Serial killer Cyanide Mohan, 56, has been convicted for the murder of an anganwadi assistant from Dakshina Kannada district, who was killed at Kempegowda Bus Stand (KBS) in Bengaluru. Sixth additional district and sessions judge Sayeedunnisa convicted Mohan on Tuesday, and the quantum of punishment will be pronounced on Thursday.

With this, Mohan has been convicted in 17 cases, and trials are on in three more cases. Public prosecutor Judith O M Crasta said Mohan met the victim at Balepuni in Bantwal taluk in October 2005. Mohan introduced himself to the victim as Anand, and befriended her, saying that he also belonged to the same caste as her. On October 21, 2005, Mohan took the victim to Bengaluru, promising to marry her. She had left home informing her family that she was going to Sringeri on a tour with friends. Both of them checked into Hotel Shabari Gate near the bus stand. Mohan had sex with the victim and the next day took her to Kempegowda Bus Station, leaving her gold ornaments in the hotel room. On reaching the bus stand, Mohan asked her to take a tablet, which was laced with cyanide, making her believe that it was a contraceptive pill. She went to the toilet on the platform number 1 of the bus stand and died after consuming the tablet. In the meantime, Mohan went to the hotel room and fled with the gold ornaments of the victim, Crasta said.

An unnatural death report (UDR) was registered at the Upparpet police station in Bengaluru. Meanwhile, a missing complaint was filed by her family members at Konaje police station in Mangaluru city. Statements of a witness, who was the president of the anganwadi monitoring and support committee, and the UDR by the police, helped the prosecution to prove the charges against Mohan. The witness also succeeded in identifying Mohan in an identification parade conducted in the presence of a tahsildar in jail. The UDR had made mention of cyanide as the cause of death. The court also took statements from Dr C M Sumangala from Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru. Further, the ornaments of the victims were also recovered. Though the case was initially taken up by theKonaje police, it was later handed over to the CID. On March 2010, CID Inspector Waseer Sahib filed a chargesheet against Mohan.

“The court examined 41 witnesses and 67 documents during the trial and found Mohan guilty of offences committed under IPC sections 366 (abduction), 417 (cheating), 376 (rape), 328 (causing hurt by means of poison, etc), 392 (robbery), 394 (voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery), 302 (murder) and 201 (destroying evidence),” Crasta said.

Mohan was arrested by Bantwal Rural police in a rape and murder case on September 21, 2009. Though he was awarded the death penalty in three cases, the verdict in one case was commuted to life and another for five years’ imprisonment.