MANGALORE: Mohan Kumar was keen on performing a special pooja in order to appease the gods and get rid of the guilt of killing women (sthree hatya dosha), chief priest of Annapoorneshwari temple, behind Bantwal town police station, Eshwar Bhat, said.Deposing before the Fast Track court as a ‘common’ witness in the trial of Cyanide Mohan, which begun on Monday, Bhat said Kumar had approached him seeking information of poojas that would counter the sins gained from committing ‘sthree hatya dosha’.However, the priest had pointed out that there were no such poojas and had advised Mohan to make an offering in the temple to make him a better person. “Mohan took the advice and left after performing ‘kumkuma archane’,” Bhat told the court.He informed that after the incident he had first set his eyes on Mohan during an identification parade organised at district sub jail by tahsildar. However, during cross-examination by defendant Mohan, Bhat agreed that Mohan was produced before him in Bantwal police station. He also conceded on having seen pictures of Mohan on TV channels and newspapers.A tailor by profession, Sumitra from BC Road deposing before the court told how she had spurned the marriage proposal from Mohan, who had introduced himself as Anand Poojary. She also saw ‘Anand Poojary’ board a KSRTC bus to Hassan with Barimaar Anita on the morning of her mysterious disappearance. Sumitra clarified that she saw the two together as she was late to work that day.However, Bhat and Sumitra hotly denied being planted as witnesses by police to issue false statements against Mohan. Later, Sumitra pleaded with the judge to be exempted from daily appearance to the court as she had to make a living by working as a daily wager.
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