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Serial Killer Episode 4: Cyanide Mallika
Cyanide Mallika gained victims’ trust through religion before poisoning them with cyanide and stealing their jewellery for money.
K. D. Kempamma, better known as Cyanide Mallika, is widely described as India’s first convicted female serial killer. Born into a modest family near Bengaluru, Mallika married a tailor and had three children. However, financial difficulties and an unhappy marriage left her struggling to support herself.
After a failed chit-fund business and several low-paying jobs, Mallika turned to crime. Police believe her desire for money eventually led her to murder.
Mallika targeted women she met at temples, especially those facing problems such as childlessness, financial hardship or family troubles. She gained their trust by presenting herself as a religious and caring woman. She then convinced them to perform special poojas, often asking them to wear their jewellery.
Once alone with her victims, Mallika poisoned them with cyanide, sometimes disguising it as holy water, food or prasad. After their deaths, she stole their jewellery and valuables and sold or pledged them for money.
Several deaths initially appeared mysterious because the victims had no obvious injuries. Her crimes became more frequent in 2007, and the murder of her final known victim, Nagaveni, helped investigators move closer to her.
Mallika was arrested on 31 December 2007. Police later linked her to several deaths and ultimately established six murders, although she was charged in additional cases.
She received multiple death sentences from different courts, but the Karnataka High Court later commuted some of them to life imprisonment. She was eventually transferred from Parappana Agrahara prison in Bengaluru to Hindalga Prison in Belagavi.
Cyanide Mallika’s case remains a chilling example of how trust, religion and the vulnerability of her victims were exploited for murder and financial gain.