Mohan, 54, aka Cyanide Mohan.

MANGALURU: The sixth additional district and sessions judge DT Puttarangaswamy on Friday awarded life Imprisonment to Mohan alias Cyanide Mohan in connection with the murder of a victim from Puttur.

Mohan, a teacher by profession who allegedly poisoned 20 young women to death using cyanide between 2003 and 2009, was convicted in a three cases was awarded death sentence in 2013. This was the fourth case.

“The court has ordered life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000 under IPC Section 302, seven years rigorous imprisonment (RI) and a fine of Rs 5,000 under Section 376, seven years RI and a fine of Rs 4,000 under Section 328, six years RI and a fine of Rs 4,000 under Section 366, five years RI and a fine of Rs 4,000 under Section 392, five years RI and a fine of Rs 3,000 under Section 201, and a simple imprisonment for six months under Section 417,” public prosecutor Judith Crasta said.

Mohan is subject to serve a two months simple imprisonment - if he fails to pay the penalty in all the cases in which he has been awarded RI.

“My precedent passed death sentence, but the matter is pending before the High Court for confirmation of the death sentence. Passing of sentence in each case is taken independently and not applied in other cases, though the accused is the same person,” judge Puttarangaswamy stated in his ruling.

The Court had on Wednesday convicted Mohan being guilty of rape, robbery and murder of a 22-year-old girl hailing from Puttur.

According to the chargesheet filed on February 2, 2010, Mohan had befriended an unmarried girl from Puttur, who rolled beedis for a livelihood. Mohan introduced himself as Anand and said he belonged to the same caste. He also promised to marry her and they exchanged phone numbers. After a few days, Mohan called her to say he had arranged a job interview in Madikeri and that she should go with him. Mohan told her to wear as much jewellery as possible to impress the interviewer.

The duo left for Madikeri in a bus and checked into a lodge. In the register, Mohan signed in as Anand and they were given Room No 3. That night, Mohan sexually assaulted her. The next morning, Mohan asked her to get ready for the interview and told her to leave all the valuables in the room as it was not necessary. After they reached the bus stand, Mohan told her that since they had sex the previous night, she could become pregnant and needed to take precautions. He convinced her that he had a medicine for it and she needed to take it in the washroom. He gave her cyanide. The victim, who believed it was a contraceptive pill, went into the washroom, consumed it and died instantly.

Meanwhile, Mohan went back to the hotel room, collected all the valuables and her cell phone, and escaped, the chargesheet said.

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