What Is The Story Of Cyanide Mohan, The Serial Killer Who Inspired Mammootty’s Stanley In Kalamkaval

Mammootty’s character of Stanley in Kalamkaval resonates with the real-life serial killer named Cyanide Mohan. Know more about the whereabouts of the character.

- December 12, 2025 | 11:19 AM IST

The Inspiration Behind Mammootty’s Character In Kalamkaval (Photo Credit –Facebook)

Mammootty starrer Kalamkaval revolves around a serial killer and is inspired by the real-life story of Cyanide Mohan, a school teacher who became a serial killer. We thought our readers might be interested in the real story after watching Kalamkaval and may want to know how much of the film draws from actual events.

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The Unravelling of Cyanide Mohan’s Serial Killings

Let’s start where the movie begins, with the communal issue. Unlike in the film, the real incident took place in Karnataka, in a place called Barimar. A 22-year-old woman named Anita went missing, and her community believed that she had eloped with a Muslim man. Protests against the police flared up, prompting the police to take the case on priority.

Just like in the film, the police begin examining the mobile phone activity of the missing woman. They soon discover that she had been in contact with a number linked to another missing woman, which leads them to a chain of disappearances. At the time, investigators suspected a human trafficking network or a prostitution racket. What they found was a disturbing pattern: when one young woman went missing, her phone was used to contact the next victim, and when that woman disappeared, her phone was used to reach yet another, and so on.

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The Mistake Made by Cyanide Mohan

Mohan made a crucial mistake when he gave one of the phones in the chain to his nephew. When that device connected to the network and remained active, the police were able to trace it and detain the teenager. During questioning, he revealed that the phone had come from his uncle, Mohan Kumar.

Soon after the police arrested Mohan Kumar in October 2009, several pieces of material evidence were found against the former school teacher. These included jewellery belonging to the missing women, tablets laced with cyanide, and multiple mobile phones. Just like in the movie, he would take his victims to bus stands, rest areas, or public toilets and give them cyanide-laced tablets while convincing them that these were oral contraceptive pills. This happened after he had intercourse with them and after luring the victims into a fake marriage. After they died, he would steal their belongings, including their gold jewellery.

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From School Teacher to Cyanide Mohan: How He Obtained the Necessary Knowledge

How did a school teacher end up becoming a serial killer who used cyanide? To understand that, we need to go back to his past. Before he began the serial killings, Mohan had tried to murder one of his former romantic partners. He was arrested and placed in judicial custody. His cellmate at the time was a jewellery worker who had once accidentally thrown out cyanide, which was later consumed by cows and goats that died as a result. That incident landed the cellmate in prison. He was the one who unknowingly gave Mohan the information about how cyanide is handled and how it can be obtained.

The Punishment Given to Cyanide Mohan

He was charged with murdering twenty women and initially received the death sentence in several of those cases. However, the Karnataka High Court later reduced his punishment to imprisonment for the rest of his life, meaning he will never be released.