They have no clue about the horrendous crime Mohan has confessed to; nor do they believe he could have committed any of them.

Mohan (46), who faces charges of killing 18 innocent girls with the intention of gaining money, came to Uppala about two years ago and started living in a rented house with his second wife Anupama (name changed) and two sons. 

Away from crowd

The family always maintained distance with the neighbours, but their behaviour never caused any suspicion. "They never interacted with anybody, except for some formal exchanges. The lady was quiet, so were the children. We thought they maintained discipline, since the man happened to be a school teacher," said a neighbour on the condition of anonymity.

She said she had come to know the names of the children only recently.

Shocked

News of Mohan's arrest and the   allegation was too big a shock for Abbas Haji, who owned the house rented by Mohan.  "I never had any problems with the family. They paid the rent regularly and seemed to be quite well off. Though the man visited the house once in four days, the lady managed the house well. Mohan never fought or became a part of any hassle. The family always preferred to be by themselves, I am too shocked, " Abbas, an elderly man with cardiac problem, said.

The neighbours know Mohan only as a calm and dignified man and respected him as a teacher.  Mohan claimed that he had been teaching at a school in Thokkottu (Mangalore), while in reality he had quit teaching as far back as in 2000.

Social isolation

While no one knew why the family stayed isolated, neighbours have a different explanation for maintaining a distance from 'the family of a dignified school teacher'.
"Somebody informed that they  belong to Scheduled Caste. So we never bothered making friends with them," informed a neighbour.

Manjula had joined a tailoring class in Mangalpady GP building 3 months ago. On Thursday morning, despite leaving for the class as usual, Manjula was actually absent at the class.