Bangalore, Dec 31 (IANS) A 43-year-old woman, who poisoned to death at least six women in the city and nearby areas after robbing them, was arrested here Monday.
The woman, identified as Mallika, the mother of three, killed the women between 1999 and 2007. She would haunt temples and lure her women victims with the offer of conducting special poojas for their welfare, take them to lonely places, give them cyanide and then rob them of jewellery and cash, the police said.
Mallika has several aliases and goes by the name of Kempamma, Lakshmi, Savitramma, Jayamma.
She has one daughter studying for MA course, another a student of fashion designing, and a son who is a car driver, city police commissioner Neelam Achyut Rao told reporters.
Mallika’s husband is a tailor but she was living with her mother on the outskirts of Bangalore after a family quarrel.
Her first victim was a 30-year-old woman named Mamatha of Hoskote, about 30 km from the city, said S.K. Umesh, inspector of Kalasipalyam police station, in the heart of the city. A team of policemen led by Umesh nabbed Mallika from the Kalasipalyam area.
Mallika’s latest victim was another 30-year-old woman, Nagaveni of Bangalore city. Nagaveni was murdered on Dec 18, Umesh said.
The police have recovered jewellery Mallika had robbed as she used to give them to pawn shops and get money, Umesh said.
The police were keeping an eye on Mallika after getting a tip off. They nabbed her when she went to pawn jewellery at Kalasipalyam.
“We expect to recover more jewellery after getting further information from her,” Umesh said.