A high-ranking officer in the Karnataka Prisons and Correctional Services Department has been arrested following revelations of an orchestrated scheme to release a convicted murderer on fabricated judicial documents. DIG of Prisons M. Somashekar, currently posted in Kalaburagi, was taken into custody after investigators linked him directly to the unlawful release of a life convict during his previous tenure as the Chief Superintendent of Bengaluru Central Jail. The convict had remained out of custody for nearly eight years before the criminal breach was formally uncovered.
Fabricated Apex Court Order and a Rapid Release
The origins of the case trace back to November 2018 at Bengaluru Central Jail, also known as Parappana Agrahara. The convict, Shankar Aradhya, had been prosecuted by the Chickpet police station in connection with the kidnapping and murder of a minor child for ransom. The trial court convicted him and sentenced him to life imprisonment in July 2004. Under normal legal procedures, he was required to serve out his life term in prison.
However, on November 13, 2018, Aradhya walked out of prison after prison authorities acted upon a forged document presented as an official ruling from the Supreme Court. The paperwork was dated November 2, 2018, and within just 11 days of its appearance, prison officials processed his formal discharge. Subsequent official inquiries confirmed that no such order had ever been delivered by the Supreme Court. Investigators determined that Srikanth S., who was then serving as a second-division assistant in the convict prisoner section of the jail, had allegedly manufactured the counterfeit judicial decree.
Internal Complaint Stalled for Four Years
The irregular discharge did not go unnoticed within the correctional system. A formal complaint had been raised by an individual from within the department alleging that Aradhya secured his liberty entirely on forged documents. Despite the seriousness of a fraudulent release in a capital murder case, the petition remained dormant and unaddressed for nearly four years under administrative inaction.
Momentum returned to the inquiry only after Alok Kumar took charge as the Director General of Police (DGP) for Prisons and Correctional Services. The pending allegations were brought to the forefront, initiating an extensive internal inquiry. Following preliminary findings that substantiated the fraud, the in-charge superintendent of Bengaluru Central Jail filed a criminal complaint at the Parappana Agrahara police station on May 20, 2026. This formal police case officially reopened the long-suppressed matter.
Re-Arrest of the Convict and Custodial Remand of the DIG
Following the registration of the FIR, investigative units tracked down the movements of Shankar Aradhya. After his unauthorized release in late 2018, Aradhya had stayed in Bengaluru before shifting his base to Mysuru to evade notice. Police arrested him in July 2026, putting an end to his eight-year evasion of life imprisonment. The assistant accused of manufacturing the document, Srikanth S., was also arrested, while Aradhya's wife was taken into judicial custody for her alleged role in facilitating the release.
The investigation subsequently homed in on M. Somashekar, who oversaw the facility as Chief Superintendent when the document was accepted. Statements collected from personnel stationed in the convict prisoner section in 2018 indicated that Aradhya was discharged specifically on Somashekar's explicit instructions. Authorities are examining whether Somashekar had full knowledge of the document's fraudulent nature when he sanctioned the release. He was placed under arrest on October 4 and remanded to police custody until October 9 to facilitate detailed interrogation.
Pattern of Preferential Treatment and Questionable Verifications
Investigative material also revealed an earlier pattern of leniency granted to the convict. Records indicate that Aradhya had previously absconded while out on parole, an infraction that typically disqualifies an inmate from future temporary leave. Despite adverse remarks logged by prison staff regarding his conduct and eligibility, authorities granted him 15 days of parole on three separate occasions in 2018 alone.
Another focal point of the investigation involves an unverified telephone record. Departmental paperwork indicates that during the identity and background verification procedure for Aradhya, Somashekar had dialed a telephone number purportedly belonging to the Chandra Layout police station. However, subsequent verification confirmed that the contact number had no official affiliation with that station. Detectives are currently tracing the chain of custody of the counterfeit document, determining how it entered the prison registry without formal court transmission channels, and identifying any other officials who abetted the scheme before final findings are presented to the court.
