Karnataka woman found alive after man spends 2.5 yrs in jail over murder charges

A man who spent nearly two-and-a-half years in prison on charges of murdering a woman has been cleared of the central allegation after she was traced alive in Karnataka’s Mandya district. District police chief has now ordered a probe into the police investigation and the confession on which the murder case was built.

Rajesh, 42, from Ragimuddanahalli in Pandavapura taluk, was arrested in August 2021 over the disappearance of Manjula, 38. Police alleged that he had killed her and disposed of her body in the Visvesvaraya Canal. He remained in judicial custody until securing bail on December 24, 2024.

Manjula was traced in Nagamangala on November 11, after Rajesh approached the police with information that she was alive and living with another man. She told the police that she had left her home to escape an arranged marriage she did not want, subsequently married someone else and had been living with him. She also said she did not know Rajesh.

Mandya Superintendent of Police V J Shobha Rani confirmed the development to HT on Thursday, saying the investigation had been transferred to the Srirangapatna Deputy Superintendent of Police. The police will decide on action against the officer who investigated the original case after receiving the report.

The case originated with Manjula’s disappearance on June 23, 2019. Her husband subsequently lodged a complaint, following which Pandavapura police registered a missing-person case on July 3.

Investigators reportedly found that her last phone call had been made using a mobile phone belonging to Rajesh, whom she had met at the Pandavapura bus stand. More than two years later, on August 11, 2021, two people approached the police, claiming Rajesh had told them he had murdered her.

Shobha Rani said, “On August 11, 2021, two persons informed the police that Rajesh had murdered Manjula and subsequently told them about it. The police registered an FIR under Section 302 of the IPC on the same day.”

According to the SP, Rajesh subsequently confessed to the murder during interrogation.He claimed to have disposed of her body in the Visvesvaraya Canal.

“He confessed to the police that he had murdered Manjula because he was in a sexual relationship with her and could not marry another woman while she was alive. He also said that he had thrown the body into the Visvesvaraya Canal,” Shobha Rani said.

Rajesh, however, maintained that the confession was extracted through custodial torture. He accused the then Pandavapura police inspector and other investigating personnel of assaulting him, administering electric shocks and threatening to arrest members of his family.

He allegedly told investigators that he had admitted to the murder because he feared further torture and action against his family, despite maintaining that he had not committed the crime.

The discovery of Manjula has brought the conduct of the original investigating team into question. Rajesh’s advocate, Natesh, is also said to have helped trace her after receiving information about her whereabouts.

Police summoned Manjula to establish the circumstances surrounding her disappearance and subsequent life in Nagamangala.

“We have handed over the case to the Srirangapatna Deputy Superintendent of Police for a probe. Based on his report, we will initiate action against the investigating officer,” Shobha Rani said.