Cyanide Mohan gets death sentence for the murder of a woman from Uppala

THE HINDU

Mangaluru, 28 Nov: The VI Additional District and Sessions Judge, Sayeedunnisa, on Wednesday sentenced 56-year-old Cyanide Mohan Kumar to death for murdering a 28-year-old woman from Uppala in Kerala, in 2009.

 

The Judge said Mohan Kumar shall be hanged by his neck till his death, subject to confirmation by the High Court of Karnataka.

 

This is the third of the 17 convictions so far in which Mohan Kumar has been sentenced to death. The High Court has confirmed death sentence in two earlier cases. He has been acquitted in one case.

 

The present case relates to the death of the woman from Uppala in Kasaragod, who earned a living by rolling beedis.

 

As per the chargesheet, Mohan Kumar got the mobile phone of the woman and befriended her by introducing himself as Sadananda Naik in April 2009.

 

By promising to marry her and get her a job, Mohan Kumar took the woman to a lodge in Kushalanagar on May 21, 2009, where he sexually assaulted her.

 

The next day, Mohan Kumar made her remove her gold ornaments and took her to a KSRTC bus stand. There she consumed cyanide which he had given her by telling her that it was an abortion pill.

 

The woman was found dead in the ladies’ washroom of the bus stand. Mohan Kumar left the place with her ornaments, the chargesheet said.

 

The woman’s mother initially filed a missing complaint with the Badyadka police in Kasaragod.

 

Following his arrest in October 2009, the victim’s mother appeared before the Bantwal police and said her daughter was among the victims.

 

The judge on Wednesday also sentenced him to 10 years of imprisonment and fined him Rs. 5,000 for the offences under Sections 366, 328, and 394 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

 

He was also sentenced to seven years of imprisonment and fined Rs. 5,000 for the offences under Sections 376 and 201 of the IPC.

 

He was sentenced to five years imprisonment and fined Rs. 5,000 for offence under Section 392 of the IPC. He was sentenced to one year imprisonment for an offence under Section 417 of the IPC.

 

All the sentences, the judge said, will run concurrently and shall merge with the death penalty in case of the HC’s confirmation.

 

The judge directed the District Legal Services Authority for awarding compensation to the victim’s mother, Padmavathi, under the Karnataka Victim Compensation Scheme.