CYANIDE MALLIKA
K.D. Kempamma of Karnataka, popularly known as ‘Cyanide Mallika’ was probably India’s first convicted female serial killer. She is believed to have been responsible for the death of 6 women in the state of Karnataka from the year 1998 to 2007. The investigating officers behind the case were shocked to find that it was a woman who killed these victims- not that women weren’t capable of a gruesome crime, but they seldom have the knowledge or the opportunity to execute such a planned murder. Here is a short bio on India’s first female serial killer. This is not a horror story by any means. This story is that of greed and ambition, and of course a couple of murders.
Kempamma was born to a low-class family near Bangalore. Like most of the other families in the village, Kempamma and her family were also religious- ‘God-fearing’. But Kempamma had a very ambitious mind. She was always drawn to a more luxurious life. And she was always in favour of the easiest path towards her goals. As a teenager, Kempamma was married to a tailor, soon after which she became a mom. She went on to have two more children. Kempamma was unsatisfied with whatever life was giving her- she wanted more, much more.
To somehow achieve her goals, she decided to start a chit fund near her residence, which she did. But unfortunately, the business met with large losses, and the family of 5 was drowned in debts on account of Kempamma. Out of anger, her husband threw Kempamma out of the house. To survive, she had to do many odd jobs. She was a maid in many households and later worked as a helper for a goldsmith. Kempamma’s eyes were always attracted to things of value. She couldn’t resist the sight of something precious and when opportunity strikes, she would steal anything. She was first caught in an act of theft in the year 1998, from a house where she does the chores. She was behind bars for 6 months.
She also lost her job with the goldsmith as a result. But her work at the Jewellery was not futile- she had acquired a one-way ticket to being rich; ‘cyanide’. Kempamma claims that she got to know about cyanide and its use as a poison from the movies she watched. The cyanide thing would have been a borrowed concept. But the rest of the plan was original. By this time, Kempamma had a killer plan to become rich in a matter of days.
Kempamma would visit the temple daily and keep a note of the things going on. She especially kept an eye on the regulars who seemed overly distressed. When the time is right Kempamma would approach them as a pious woman and lend her ears to their problems. She knew that they were in the midst of a distress and knew exactly what they wanted. She offered to help them with the ‘mandala pooja’, which she assured would be the solution to all their problems. And for the ritual, she would ask them to wear their most valuable dress and put on all their jewelleries. Kempamma always invited them to a temple unfamiliar to them in the outskirts. Then she would ask them to close their eyes and pray. Little did they know then that it would be their last. Then she would serve them the water mixed with cyanide as ‘holy water’. And that’s it.
It was in the year 1998 that she committed her first murder. All her victims were elderly women who were going through a difficult phase in their life, a woman had asthma and wanted to get rid of it, a 59 year old wanted to find her missing child, and so on. Kempamma would completely change her identity after each murder. After her very first murder, Kempamma is not reported to have been involved in any murder for 7 whole years. There are people claiming that she has murdered several during this time period, but it remains to be a mystery to date. However, in the year 2007, with a period of 3 months, Kempamma murder 5 of her victims, all in the same manner. She was caught with the jewels of her last victim and was arrested by the Karnataka police. ‘Mallika’ was what she named herself as she introduced herself to her last victim. She was the first person in the state of Karnataka to receive a death penalty, which was subsequently replaced by a life imprisonment.
Normally when it comes to psychopaths and serial killers, we assume that they were born with this murderous instinct programmed in to their brain. But, aren’t there situational factors as well that could have contributed to the same amount? If yes, are we sure that those situations were rare occasions and is completely extinct? If no, are there still ‘Mallikas’ in the making?
