A former Chief Superintendent of Bengaluru Central Prison, who is currently serving as a Deputy Inspector General (DIG) in the Department of Prisons and Correctional Services, has been arrested after the wife of a life convict accused him of sexually exploiting her in exchange for allegedly helping secure her husband’s release from prison, NDTV reported.
Police have alleged that Srikanth S, a prison employee who was serving as a Senior Division Assistant (SDA) in the Convict Prisoner Section at the time, forged the purported Supreme Court order indicating that Shankar had been granted release. Somashekar was arrested by the Parappana Agrahara police after investigators alleged that he had not cooperated with the probe and had withheld information related to the case. The sentence was subsequently upheld by the higher courts.
The allegations against Sri Somashekar, who was serving as the prison’s Chief Superintendent at the time, surfaced during a police investigation into the 2018 release of convict Shankar A., which was allegedly based on a forged Supreme Court order. The allegation emerged as investigators examined how Shankar, who was serving a life sentence, was released from Bengaluru Central Prison on November 13, 2018, on the basis of an alleged Supreme Court order that police have since determined was forged. Shankar was sentenced to life imprisonment by Fast Track Court-I in 2004 in connection with a case registered at Chickpet Police Station.
During questioning, Shankar’s wife alleged that Somashekar had sexually exploited her in connection with efforts to secure her husband’s release from prison, according to the police. Police said the investigation is continuing to determine the circumstances surrounding the alleged forged court order, Shankar’s release from prison and the allegations against the former prison official.
He was later produced before the court, which remanded him to police custody for further questioning.
