Mysuru — In a shocking twist to a four-year-old case, the Fifth Additional District and Sessions Court in Mysuru has acquitted Kuruba Suresh, who was falsely accused of killing his wife, Mallige. The dramatic development unfolded after Mallige, believed dead, was discovered alive on April 1 this year.
The court instructed the Station House Officer of Bettadapura Police Station to immediately strike off Suresh’s name from all records related to the murder case.
Suresh, a resident of Basavanahalli tribal colony in Kushalnagar taluk, had spent more than two years behind bars as an undertrial. Recognizing the grave miscarriage of justice, the court also ordered the Karnataka government to compensate him with ₹1 lakh.
Mallige had vanished on October 19, 2020, prompting a missing person report at Kushalnagar Police Station. Later, a skeleton was recovered by Bettadapura Police on November 12, 2020, which was wrongly presumed to be hers. Acting on a complaint filed by her son, the police charged Suresh with murder on July 18, 2021.
His bail was denied by the trial court in December 2022, but he secured release in September 2023 following a High Court directive. The real truth came to light when Mallige resurfaced and was produced in court.
Taking note of investigative failures, the court directed the Inspector General of Police to conduct a departmental probe into officers Jitendra Kumar, Prakash M Yattinamani, B K Mahesh, and B G Prakash. Further, legal action was ordered against B G Prakash for allegedly fabricating evidence.
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