Not your ordinary 'Mallika': Inside the mind of India’s first female serial killer

BENGALURU: She is simply a killer. She is simply a predator who hunted successful silence. She is nary mean Mallika — she is 'Cyanide Mallika', Bengaluru’s astir chilling murderer and judge to beryllium India's archetypal pistillate serial killer.Her crimes, carried retired with acold precision, echo the unnerving panic of Hollywood thrillers: similar Aileen Wuornos successful Monster, KD Kempamma killed successful plain sight, preying connected those who trusted her, masking fearfulness beneath a calm exterior.She was cunning, diligent and manipulative — her top limb not cyanide alone, but the spot she gained by appearing devout and sympatheticMore than 20 decades ago, Bengaluru constabulary announced the apprehension of K D Kempamma alias Mallika, a pistillate who, investigators said, had single-handedly murdered aggregate women by poisoning them with cyanide and fleeing with their jewellery. The disclosure sent ripples crossed the city, not conscionable due to the fact that of the brutality of the crimes, but due to the fact that of wherever they unfolded.

Police said Kempamma, past 43, targeted women successful distress, gained their spot by posing arsenic a devout believer, and executed her murders with chilling precision.By the clip she was yet caught connected December 31, 2007, Kempamma had confessed to sidesplitting astatine slightest six women since 1999. In the past 3 months alone, constabulary said, she had murdered 5 women — each successful Bengaluru — leaving down a way of unexplained deaths that had earlier been dismissed arsenic mysterious oregon unnatural.

The 'killer' instinct According to investigators, Kempamma followed a accordant and calculated pattern. She frequented temples astir Bengaluru, posing arsenic an ardent devotee well-versed successful spiritual rituals. Keeping a adjacent ticker connected women who appeared troubled, she would onslaught up conversations, perceive patiently to their idiosyncratic problems and contiguous herself arsenic a sympathetic confidante.Once she gained their trust, Kempamma would suggest peculiar rituals — mandal pooja oregon different forms of worship — claiming they could resoluteness issues specified arsenic childlessness, fiscal troubles oregon household discord. She would importune that the rituals beryllium performed astatine temples connected the outskirts of the city, acold from the victim’s home, ensuring isolation.At these secluded locations, constabulary said, Kempamma would administer cyanide — sometimes mixed successful h2o she passed disconnected arsenic beatified water, astatine different times successful food. In immoderate cases, she forcefully held the victim’s chemoreceptor and made them portion the poisoned liquid. In others, she waited until they were dormant oregon praying. Death was swift.

Once the unfortunate collapsed, Kempamma would calmly region jewellery and valuables and disappear.How was she arrestedThe serial killings came to airy aft Kempamma was arrested by Kalasipalyam constabulary connected a tip-off that a pistillate was attempting to merchantability jewellery and mobile phones successful a suspicious mode astatine a autobus stand. When questioned, she identified herself arsenic Mallika and soon revealed details that stunned investigators.

“She had single-handedly murdered six women by utilizing cyanide and decamped with their jewellery and valuables,” past metropolis constabulary commissioner N Achuta Rao said. The victims, constabulary said, were chosen cautiously — mostly well-off women who frequented temples and were susceptible owed to idiosyncratic distress.During interrogation, Kempamma admitted to the crimes, starring constabulary to reopen respective cases that had earlier been registered arsenic mysterious deaths. One of the murders, constabulary confirmed, had taken spot successful Tamil Nadu, portion others were successful and astir Bengaluru.A way of deaths dismissed arsenic ‘unnatural’Of the murders Kempamma confessed to, constabulary said 3 had been registered arsenic mysterious deaths and 2 arsenic unnatural deaths. In respective cases, the women had died wrong temple premises, with nary disposable signs of violence, making it hard for investigators astatine the clip to fishy foul play.

West DCP K V Sharat Chandra said constabulary began re-examining deaths reported successful temples implicit the erstwhile years and sought inputs from aesculapian experts to place cases involving cyanide poisoning.The reopening of aged cases revealed disturbing similarities — women recovered dormant during prayers, missing jewellery and nary contiguous suspects. Kempamma’s confession tied these escaped ends together.A troubled pastPolice said Kempamma was a nonmigratory of Kaggalipura and had been moving a chit money business. She was joined to Devaraj, a tailor moving astatine NIMHANS. Her life, however, took a drastic crook successful 1998 erstwhile she incurred dense concern losses and was abandoned by her husband.She was reportedly thrown retired of her location and near to fend for herself. Investigators judge it was aft this play that she chose what constabulary described arsenic a “murderous path”. Her archetypal confirmed execution took spot connected October 19, 1999, successful Hoskote, erstwhile she killed a 30-year-old woman, Mamatha Rajan, portion the unfortunate was praying.A sidesplitting spreePolice said Kempamma’s sidesplitting spree intensified dramatically successful 2007.

Between October and December that year, she murdered 5 women, each successful Bengaluru. Her last known unfortunate was a 30-year-old pistillate who, constabulary said, was distressed implicit not having a antheral child. Kempamma killed her portion she was asleep.Each execution followed a acquainted signifier — befriending the unfortunate astatine a temple, suggesting a peculiar pooja, isolating them astatine a distant determination and administering cyanide. The jewellery she stole was aboriginal sold oregon pledged, yet starring to her arrest.A gory pastIn a chilling revelation, constabulary said Kempamma had been arrested erstwhile before, successful 2001, by Bidadi police. She was caught portion attempting to rob jewellery from a location wherever she was performing a ritual. At the time, she was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment and released aft completing her term.That arrest, constabulary admitted, did not trigger a deeper probe into her activities. It would instrumentality different six years — and aggregate deaths — for her crimes to beryllium afloat uncovered.Serving beingness imprisonmentFollowing her apprehension successful 2007, Kempamma faced aggregate trials crossed antithetic courts. A Fast Track Court awarded her the decease condemnation for murdering 5 aged women for gain. In 2010, a Tumkur tribunal sentenced her to decease for the execution of Muniyamma astatine the Yediyur Siddalingeshwara temple successful Kunigal taluk.In 2012, the Bangalore agrarian 1st further sessions tribunal again imposed the decease punishment connected Kempamma for the execution of K Nagalakshmi astatine Ghati Subramanya, wherever she had utilized cyanide and electrical ligament earlier committing robbery.Another sessions tribunal awarded her the decease condemnation for the execution of Nagaveni, a housewife recovered dormant successful a temple successful Doddaballapur. Nagaveni, constabulary said, was childless and had been persuaded by Kempamma to execute peculiar pujas portion wearing each her jewellery.High tribunal involution and retrialsThe Karnataka High Court aboriginal intervened successful immoderate of these cases. In 1 instance, it remanded the lawsuit backmost to the sessions court, directing it to grounds the cross-examination of the doc who conducted the post-mortem and implicit the proceedings wrong a stipulated time.In different cases, proceedings courts awarded Kempamma beingness imprisonment. In 1 specified lawsuit relating to the execution of 50-year-old Pillamma successful Maddur taluk, the further sessions tribunal sentenced her to beingness imprisonment and imposed a good of Rs 5,000.Life wrong prisonKempamma was lodged successful Parappana Agrahara cardinal prison. She aboriginal made headlines erstwhile reports emerged that she was housed successful a compartment adjacent to that of AIADMK person VK Sasikala.Following information concerns, jailhouse authorities shifted Kempamma to Hindalga situation successful Belagavi, 1 of the oldest prisons successful the country, which houses respective decease enactment convicts and panic accused. Jail sources said the determination was carried retired quietly, without anterior intimation to the inmate.A calculated predatorInvestigators said Kempamma’s top limb was not cyanide, but trust. By exploiting religion and vulnerability, she turned temples into hunting grounds and rituals into instruments of death. Her victims trusted her arsenic a chap devotee, unaware that the beatified h2o she offered would beryllium their last.As constabulary pieced unneurotic her crimes, the signifier became unmistakable — a serial slayer who hid successful plain sight, utilizing religion arsenic a shield and distress arsenic a doorway.The case, officers said, served arsenic a grim reminder that evil sometimes wears the astir convincing disguise.