Sixth Additional District and Sessions Judge Sayeedunnisa on Monday sentenced serial killer Cyanide Mohan Kumar to life imprisonment on finding him guilty of murdering 23-year-old Arathi, a resident of Kasaragod district in Kerala, in 2006.
The punishment comes in the 19th of the 20 cases of murder registered against Mohan Kumar. Earlier, he had been sentenced to life in three of the 20 murder cases.
Unlike in the other cases, Mohan Kumar, in this case, introduced himself to Arathi with his real name and told her that he worked as a teacher.
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According to the chargesheet, Mohan Kumar met Arathi while she was coming to work at an unit of Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative Ltd. (CAMPCO). Mohan Kumar had accompanied Arathi to the latter’s house.
On January 3, 2006, Arathi left her house after telling her family members that she was going to a picnic. Arathi came to Puttur bus stand from where Mohan Kumar took her to Mysuru where they stayed in a lodge near the bus stand. The next morning, Mohan Kumar asked Arathi to remove her ornaments in the room. The two came to the KSRTC bus stand where Mohan Kumar asked her to consume a pill stating that it was a contraceptive pill. However, it was cyanide.
Arathi consumed the pill in the washroom. As she collapsed, people in the washroom rushed her to a nearby hospital where she was declared dead. Mohan Kumar then went to the lodge and left the place along with Arathi’s ornaments. Following his arrest by Bantwal Police on October 21, 2009, Mohan Kumar admitted to murdering 20 women.
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Ms. Sayeedunnisa sentenced Mohan Kumar to life and imposed a fine of ₹ 25,000 on him for an offence under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. This sentence shall commence after he serves the sentence of imprisonment in the other cases where he has been convicted, the judge noted.
Imprisonment ranging between one year and 10 years was imposed for offences under Sections 417 (cheating), 392 (robbery), 376 (rape), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), 328 (administering stupefying drug), 366 (kidnapping) and 394 (causing hurt in committing robbery) of the Indian Penal Code. A total of ₹ 55,000 fine has been imposed. All sentences in this case will run concurrently.
The judge asked the District Legal Service Authority to take steps for awarding compensation to Arathi’s mother under the Karnataka Victim Compensation Scheme. The judge also directed the court staff to return Arathi’s gold ornaments to her mother.