Home / Crime and Justice / Life Term Prisoner Rearrested After Fake Court Order
Life Term Prisoner Rearrested After Fake Court Order
12 Sep
Summary
- Convict Shankar A lived freely for six years after release on a forged order.
- A prison clerk, Srikanth, forged a Supreme Court order using a real document.
- Anonymous petitions and whistleblowers exposed the elaborate fraud.
- Both Shankar and the clerk Srikanth are back in judicial custody.
A life-term convict, Shankar A, was rearrested and returned to judicial custody after successfully evading prison for nearly six years on a forged Supreme Court release order. The deception came to light due to anonymous petitions and internal whistleblowers alleging insider collusion.
Shankar, originally sentenced for a 2004 kidnapping and murder, was released from Parappana Agrahara Central Prison in November 2018 based on an official-looking document from the Supreme Court. Prison authorities accepted the order without verification, allowing Shankar to live in Mysuru.
The fraud was orchestrated by First Division Assistant Srikanth, who intercepted a real Supreme Court release order and altered it to include Shankar's details. Srikanth then dispatched the forged document from a local post office, mimicking judicial channels.
An internal inquiry was launched by the Director General of Police (Prisons and Correctional Services) Alok Kumar in May 2026 after receiving a second petition detailing the scam. Police confirmed with the Supreme Court that no such release order was ever issued, leading to the registration of an FIR.
Shankar was apprehended at his Mysuru residence, and Srikanth was arrested for drafting and mailing the forged order. An investigation is underway to determine the exact financial transactions between Srikanth and Shankar's wife.
