This Mona darling kills

Friendly, sophisticated, smart female in her mid-30s… It’s not a pitch for online friendship but the description of a wanted killer. Say hello to Mona, reports HT Correspondent.

Friendly, sophisticated, smart female in her mid-30s… It’s not a pitch for online friendship but the description of a wanted killer. Say hello to Mona, our homegrown highway-woman.

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A careful criminal, Mona picks her targets with some consideration. The Inland Container Depot at Tughlaqabad is her hunting ground. Truckers, of course, are her prey, but only those transporting high-worth consignment. She has struck thrice so far, and effected a clean getaway.

Two things the police know for sure about her are that she’s a native of Hapur and a school dropout. Other than that, the details are sketchy.

Even her three partners in crime —Krishan Kumar Tiwari (22), Manoj Kumar Choubey (24) and Ashok Kumar (28) — who were arrested recently, don’t have a clue about her whereabouts.

Explaining Mona’s modus operandi, Neeraj Thakur, DCP (crime), says, “She zeroes onto a particular container or truck and befriends its driver. Her friends then seek a lift and, on the way, kill the driver and flee with the truck.” But it’s the cargo, not the truck, Mona is after, and she is resourceful enough to dispose of the pricey consignment.

In her latest strike on September 1, Mona allegedly went after a truck containing imported gas heaters worth Rs 25 lakh.

She had already ‘befriended’ the truck driver Ash Babulkar, and then Manoj and Krishan sought a lift from him to Noida.

“On the way, Krishan persuaded Babulkar to let him drive. Manoj and Ashok then strangled him and threw his body into a drain on NH-24. They later contacted Mona, who disposed of the booty,” says an officer.

Along with Mona, her fourth accomplice, Taufiq, is also absconding.