Killing silently: Woman serial-killer nabbed

BANGALORE: A female serial killer, who trapped women in distress by offering to perform poojas to rid their domestic problems and later killed them by administering cyanide to steal their valuables, was arrested here.
   
The accused, Mallika, in her mid forties, was arrested on Sunday when she attempted to sell some of the jewellery and mobile phones.
   
'She had single handely murdered six women by using cyanide and decamped with their jewellery and valuables', city Police Commissioner, N Achuta Rao told on Monday.
   
Explaining the modus operandi of the accused, Rao said that Mallika would visit temples posing as an ardent devotee but keep a watch for women in distress.
   
She would then skillfully gain their confidence by listening to their tale of woes. Pretending to be a well wisher to gain their confidence she would advice them to perform special pooja to overcome their problems.
    
She would offer to arrange the pooja in a temple in the outskirts of the city. She would as pre-arranged take them to a nearby temple and hire a room in the vicinity for an overnight stay. "Once in the room, she would administer cyanide and kill them before robbing", he said.
   
"So far we have detected six such murders, one of which was committed way back in 1999 and the remaining five which happened in the last two months of 2007", Rao said.
   
"So far it appears that she has committed the cold blooded murders single handedly. We have yet to trace any accomplices and determine wheather she was involved in more offences or committed more such murders", he said.