Bengaluru, May 24 (IANS) A major case of prison fraud has come to light in Karnataka after authorities discovered that a life convict had reportedly managed to secure his release from Bengaluru’s Parappana Agrahara Central Prison nearly eight years ago by using forged documents purportedly issued by the Supreme Court.
The incident has sparked serious concern within the Prison Department and prompted an investigation into possible collusion, negligence, and procedural lapses that may have enabled the convict’s release.
The convict, identified as Shankar Armugam, had been serving a life sentence in connection with a 2001 kidnapping-for-ransom case.
Officials said he was released from prison on November 13, 2018, after producing documents that allegedly showed he had obtained relief from the Supreme Court.
At the time of his release, prison authorities reportedly processed the documents submitted by him and released him after he paid a fine of Rs 10,000 mentioned in the purported court order.
The matter came to light only recently after the Director General of Prisons received a complaint alleging that Shankar had fraudulently secured his release by submitting fake Supreme Court orders.
Following the complaint, prison authorities initiated an internal inquiry into the matter. During the course of the investigation, officials contacted the office of the Assistant Registrar of the Supreme Court in New Delhi for verification of the documents.
Authorities later found that the order submitted by the convict was allegedly forged and had no official connection with the apex court.
According to prison officials, Shankar Armugam had been convicted by Fast Track Court-I in Bengaluru under Section 364A of the IPC for kidnapping for ransom and under Section 120B for criminal conspiracy. The court had directed that both sentences would run concurrently.
The development has now raised troubling questions about how forged judicial documents managed to pass through official prison procedures without detection and whether any insiders within the prison system facilitated or ignored the fraud.
Based on the findings of the inquiry, the Parappana Agrahara Police have registered an FIR under relevant sections related to forgery, fabrication and use of fake documents, and cheating.
Officials said efforts are currently underway to trace and re-arrest the convict. Investigators are also examining the possible involvement of individuals who may have helped prepare forged records and facilitate the illegal release from prison.
Further investigation into the case is ongoing.
Alok Kumar, DGP Prisons, said, “An FIR has now been registered at Parappana Agrahara Police Station in connection with the case for cheating and forgery of documents by the life imprisonment convict Shankar Arumugam.”
“The FIR has been registered nearly eight years later, based on an anonymous letter received at my office. An inquiry in this regard was conducted by the DIG (South). Based on her report, the FIR was registered,” he added.
–IANS
sd/