Cyanide Killer: Teacher's Deadly Deception

The film Kalamkaval draws inspiration from the disturbing real-life case of Cyanide Mohan, a school teacher who became a notorious serial killer. Mohan's modus operandi involved deceiving young women into fake marriages and then administering cyanide-laced tablets, which he presented as contraceptive pills, leading to their deaths. Following their demise, he would steal their possessions, particularly gold jewelry.

Investigators initially suspected a human trafficking ring when a chain of disappearances was uncovered. The breakthrough came when Mohan made a critical error by giving a victim's phone to his nephew. The tracing of this active device led police to Mohan Kumar, as he was known, in October 2009. Key evidence, including stolen jewelry and cyanide tablets, was recovered from him.

Mohan's descent into serial killing stemmed from a past incident where he learned about cyanide handling from a cellmate. Initially sentenced to death for the murders of twenty women, his sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment by the Karnataka High Court, ensuring he will never be released.