Karnataka Prisons Official Held in 2018 Release Probe

Police in Bengaluru arrested M. Somashekar, a Deputy Inspector General in Karnataka’s prisons department, on October 4 in an investigation into a life convict’s 2018 release using a purportedly forged Supreme Court order. A court remanded Somashekar to police custody through October 9 for further questioning, according to police accounts. Police say Shankar A., who was serving a life sentence, was released from Bengaluru Central Prison on November 13, 2018, after prison authorities received the purported order. Investigators allege that Srikanth S., then a second division assistant in the prison’s Convict Prisoner Section, forged the document. Srikanth, now a first division assistant, has also been arrested in the case, police said. Somashekar was chief superintendent of the prison when Shankar was released. Police allege that he failed to cooperate with the investigation and withheld information about the case. His alleged role in facilitating the release remains under investigation; authorities have not reported findings establishing how the order was processed or who handled or authorised it.