A man in Karnataka, Suresh, spent nearly one-and-a-half years in jail after being accused of murdering his wife, Mallige. In a shocking twist, Mallige appeared alive in court, disproving the charges. The case had led to his wrongful imprisonment based on mistaken identity or false evidence. Authorities are now under scrutiny for the grave error.
New Delhi: A court has taken serious note of police lapses and has mandated that the Superintendent of Police (SP) submit a comprehensive report by April 17 regarding a case in which a woman, previously believed to have been murdered by her husband in 2020, has reappeared alive.
Suresh, the husband of the woman named Mallige, spent nearly one and a half years in jail facing murder charges. The case began when Suresh reported his wife’s disappearance in December 2020 from Kushalnagar, located in the Kodagu district.
Later, the police discovered a woman’s skeleton in Bettadarapura and filed a charge sheet claiming it belonged to Mallige, accusing Suresh of her murder, which led to his imprisonment.
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On April 1, Mallige was located in Madikeri by a friend of Suresh, who recognized her with another man. This development prompted the Fifth Additional District and Sessions Court to take action, leading to her presentation in court.
The court, expressing concern over police errors, has directed the SP to provide a detailed report on the situation by April 17.
Suresh’s advocate, Pandu Poojari, stated,
“Suresh, who is from a village in Kushalnagar, had lodged a complaint in 2020 at the Kushalnagar Rural Police Station regarding his wife’s disappearance. Around the same time, a skeleton was found within the Bettadarapura police station limits. A year later, Bettadarapura police arrested Suresh, alleging that he had killed his wife over an illicit affair. A case was registered against him.”
The police submitted the skeleton for a DNA test alongside blood samples from Mallige’s mother.
He explained,
“Even before the DNA report came, the police filed the final charge sheet in court. Later, though he got bail, the DNA test report that eventually came showed a mismatch,”
When a discharge application was submitted due to the DNA mismatch, the court rejected it, insisting on witness examinations, including those of Mallige’s mother and local villagers.
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The advocate noted,
“Everyone deposed before the court that she was alive and had eloped with someone. The court questioned the Kushalnagar and Bettadarapura police about the loopholes in the charge sheet, but they defended their investigation and maintained that the skeleton belonged to Mallige and that Suresh had murdered her,”
On April 1, Mallige was found at a hotel in Madikeri dining with a man. She was identified by Suresh’s friend, a witness listed in the charge sheet, and subsequently taken to the Madikeri police station, leading to an “advancement application” being filed in the district judge’s court
He added,
“The court, treating the matter seriously, asked police to produce her immediately. She was then presented in court. When questioned, she admitted to eloping and marrying another man. She said she was unaware of what had happened to Suresh. She had been living in a village named Shettyhalli, just 25-30 km from Madikeri, but police made no effort to trace her,”
Calling this a very serious and rare case, the advocate emphasized that the key questions now are: whose skeleton was it, and why did the police file a false charge sheet?
He stated,
“The court had summoned the SP and the investigating officers in the case, but they had no answers to offer. It has now directed the SP to file a complete report on the lapses before April 17 before delivering the judgment declaring Suresh innocent,”
He expressed that he is awaiting the court’s final order and, once it is issued, he plans to file a writ petition in the High Court for the trauma his client endured and against the police for initiating a false case against him.
He said,
“I will seek justice and compensation for my client. We will also approach the Human Rights Commission and the ST Commission, as Suresh is a poor man from the ST community,”
Furthermore, he urged that an investigation be conducted into the skeleton case and whether there was a conspiracy by the police to resolve both cases by framing Suresh as the accused.