Indian teacher accused of killing 18 women

Mohan Kumar, an Indian primary school teacher, has been accused of killing 18 young women, it's now 19 and counting, after he promised to marry them.

Most of the victims were poor or low-caste women who regarded the teacher as a catch.


Photo from here.

According to police, Mr Kumar, a 46-year-old father of four, lured his victims into having sex with him by promising to marry them without demanding a dowry but murdered them after. Detectives say he gave them cyanide pills and said they were contraceptives.

The women were found dead in hotels, lavatories, and even bus shelters in towns close to Bangalore and Mysore over the last five years.


Photo from here.

Police realised they had found an alleged serial killer while they were investigating the disappearance of a 22-year-old woman in June this year. They began investigating her case after Hindus in her village protested and claimed she had been taken by Muslims and forced to convert.

Superintendent Subramanyeshwara Rao said Mr Kumar was not a psychopath and alleged he had deliberately targeted each of his victims. "He remembers most of his victims," he said. "It was mostly random targeting of single women. He was doing it every two to three months, when he would run out of money."