Prisons DIG Arrested Over Assisting Convicted Prisoner’s Release Through Forged SC Order
Bengaluru police arrested Prisons DIG M. Somashekar for allegedly assisting a life convict’s release using a forged Supreme Court order in 2018.
Bengaluru police arrested M. Somashekar, Deputy Inspector General of Prisons on charge of assisting a convicted prisoner for life imprisonment Shankar. A., in securing his release through a forged Supreme Court order when he was the Chief Superintendent of Central Prison, Bengaluru.
The incharge Superintendent of Bengaluru Central Prison on May 20 this year lodged a complaint with Parappana Agrahara police stating that a convicted prisoner Shankar A., had been released on November 13, 2018 allegedly by forging a purported order of the Supreme Court and subsequently, the jurisdictional police began the investigation.
As the investigation progressed in the case, police found that the then Chief Superintendent of Department of Prisons and Correctional Services had failed to cooperate with the investigation during the course of the case and concealed information related to the forgery of Supreme Court order. Police, on October 4, took him into their custody and a Court remanded him to police custody.
During the course of investigation, Police came across convicted prisoner Shankar was sentenced to life imprisonment by Fast Track Court-1 on July 12, 2004 and his numerous appeals to cancel his sentence went futile including Supreme Court.
Police investigation revealed that S. Srikanth, currently First Division Assistant (FDA) in the Convict Prison section of the Central Prison had forged a copy of an order purportedly issued by the Supreme Court in the criminal case appeal of convicted prison Shankar showing that an order for his release has been passed on November 13, 2018.
When police examined the wife of the convicted prisoner Shankar, she revealed the then Chief Superintendent had also assisted in the release of her husband.
