The matter came to light after authorities found out that the convict, identified as Shankar Armugam, used fake documents to secure his release from the prison.
Image: IANS
A man serving life sentence in connection with a 2001 kidnapping-for-ransom case reportedly came out of the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison in Karnataka’s Bengaluru nearly eight years ago by showing forged documents purportedly issued by the Supreme Court, officials said.
The matter came to light after authorities found out that the convict, identified as Shankar Armugam, used fake documents to secure his release from the prison, IANS reported. This has sparked serious concerns in the Prison Department and led to an investigation over possible collusion and procedural lapses which could have enabled the person’s release from jail.
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What happened?
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Armugam came out of the Bengaluru-based jail on November 13, 2018. At that time, he presented documents allegedly showing that he received relief from the Supreme Court.
After processing the documents submitted by the man, the jail authorities released him as he paid a fine of ₹10,000 mentioned in the purported Supreme Court order.
Recently, the Director General of Prisons received a complaint stating that Armugam did a major fraud to secure his release, as he presented fake orders from the top court.
Acting on the complaint, prison authorities began an internal inquiry and got in touch with officials at the office of the Assistant Registrar of the Supreme Court in New Delhi to verify the documents.
Later on, it was found that the alleged order submitted by the man was forged and did not have any connection to the Supreme Court.
Armugam had earlier been convicted by the Fast Track Court-I in Bengaluru under Section 364A of the IPC for kidnapping for ransom as well as under Section 120B for criminal conspiracy. During that time, the court stated that both sentences would run concurrently, according to IANS.
Now, the latest development has raised key questions regarding how Armugam managed to pass through official prison procedures by presenting fake documents without detection. Also, it is being looked out whether insiders faclilitated or ignored the fraud.
Alok Kumar, DGP Prisons, said that an FIR was registered regarding the matter at the Parappana Agrahara Police Station 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 said.
Further investigation in the matter is currently underway.
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