Karnataka: Prisons DIG Somashekar held for forging Supreme Court order used to free life convict in 2018

Deputy Inspector General of Prisons (DIG) M Somashekar, who was the chief superintendent of Parappana Agrahara Central Prison in 2018, was arrested on Sunday night over the alleged use of a forged Supreme Court order to free a life convict from the jail that year.

Somashekar was produced before an ACMM court on Monday and remanded to five days in police custody, Parappana Agrahara police inspector Naveen Kumar said.

The investigation follows the release of S Shankar, who walked out of the prison on November 13, 2018, after officials received a document purportedly ordering his release from the Supreme Court.

Police are examining how the document was prepared, how it reached the prison and how it was processed and verified before Shankar was released. They are also examining Somashekar’s role as the prison’s chief superintendent at the time.

Shankar had been serving a life sentence in a murder and kidnapping for ransom case. He was arrested in 2001 and booked under sections 364A and 120B of the Indian Penal Code. He was later convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment, with the sentences directed to run concurrently.

The police have already arrested Shankar and S Srikanth, a former second division assistant at Parappana Agrahara Central Prison.

Investigators suspect Srikanth of preparing the forged Supreme Court document.

“The investigation has revealed that a fabricated document was presented as a Supreme Court order and that a life convict was released from prison in 2018 on that basis. Two persons have already been arrested in connection with the case, and we are also examining the role of the prison officials who were responsible at that time,” Kumar said.

Investigators are now tracing what happened between the preparation of the alleged fake order and Shankar’s release from prison.

“We are trying to establish how the fake order was prepared, how it reached the prison authorities and who all were involved in the process of releasing the convict. The relevant records and other evidence are being examined as part of the investigation,” Kumar said.

Somashekar is currently serving as DIG in the Prisons Department in Kalburgi.