Former Bengaluru Prison Chief Superintendent Arrested for Forged Supreme Court Order Used to Free Life Convict
Former Bengaluru Prison Chief Superintendent Arrested for Forged Supreme Court Order Used to Free Life Convict
Bengaluru
In a major case of alleged institutional corruption, the Bengaluru Police have arrested former Chief Superintendent of Bengaluru Central Prison and current Deputy Inspector General (Prisons), North Zone, Somashekhar, for his alleged role in the unlawful release of a life convict using a forged Supreme Court order.
The case came to light after Alok Kumar, Director General of Prisons and Correctional Services, Karnataka, received information in May 2026 regarding the illegal release of a life convict who had walked out of prison nearly eight years ago. Following the complaint, prison authorities sought verification of the purported SupremeCourt order from the Assistant Registrar of the Supreme Court of India. In response, the Assistant Registrar informed Karnataka prison authorities that the order dated November 2, 2018, purportedly issued by the Supreme Court, was fake and directed appropriate action in the matter.
Based on the findings, Karna B. Kshetri, In-charge Superintendent of Parappana Agrahara Central Prison, lodged a complaint on May 20, 2026, stating that a life convict had been released from prison on November 13, 2018, on the basis of a fabricated court order. Following the complaint, Parappana Agrahara Police registered a case under sections related to cheating, forgery of public documents and the use of forged records.
According to police, the convict had been sentenced to life imprisonment by a Fast Track Court in July 2004 in connection with a kidnapping and criminal conspiracy case registered at Chickpet Police Station in 2000. The court had also imposed a fine of ₹10,000. Subsequent appeals seeking relief from the sentence were dismissed by both the Karnataka High Court and the Supreme Court.
Investigations revealed that Srikanth S., then serving as a Second Division Assistant (SDA) in the prison's convict section and later promoted to First Division Assistant (FDA), allegedly forged a Supreme Court order dated November 2, 2018, in a criminal appeal matter. The fabricated document was allegedly used to secure the convict's release from prison.Police had earlier arrested both the released convict and Srikanth in connection with the case, and both were remanded to judicial custody.
During the course of the investigation, the convict's wife also alleged that Somashekhar, who was serving as Chief Superintendent of the prison at the time, had sexually exploited her under the pretext of facilitating her husband's release.
According to investigators, Somashekhar allegedly failed to verify the authenticity of the court documents, deliberately facilitated the convict's release and later failed to cooperate with the investigation. Based on these findings, police arrested him on October 4, 2026.
He was produced before the jurisdictional magistrate, who remanded him to police custody for further interrogation until October 9.
Police said further investigation into the alleged administrative lapses, forgery conspiracy and sexual exploitation allegations is ongoing.
The investigation is being conducted under the supervision of M. Narayana, IPS, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Electronic City Division), and led by Satish K.M., Assistant Commissioner of Police, along with Police Inspector Naveen Kumar P.G. and a special investigation team from Parappana Agrahara Police Station.