Man spends years in jail for murder of woman found alive in Mandya

Bengaluru: A woman presumed murdered has been found alive in Karnataka’s Mandya district, nearly three years after the man accused of killing her was jailed.

The incident dates back to 2019, when the woman, Manju, went missing from Pandavapura town. Her father, Nagaraju, lodged a missing-person complaint at the Pandavapura police station. During the investigation, police reportedly found that Manju made her last phone call using Rajesh’s mobile phone, after meeting him at the Pandavapura bus stand.

Based on this lead, police registered a murder case against Rajesh, a resident of Ragimuddanahalli, in 2021. He was subsequently arrested and sent to judicial custody.

‘Forced tortured into confessing’

Rajesh alleged that police tortured him and forced him to confess to a crime he had not committed. He claimed that officers kicked him with boots, administered electric shocks, and threatened to arrest his family members. He reportedly confessed out of fear. The conduct of the then Pandavapura police inspector Prabhakar has also come under scrutiny.

Rajesh remained in jail for roughly two years and six months before securing bail.

The case has now taken an extraordinary turn, with Manju being traced alive in Nagamangala. Rajesh’s advocate, Natesh, reportedly received information about her whereabouts and traced her.

Left home as unhappy with marriage

She was then taken to the Bindiganavile police station, where her statement was recorded. During questioning, Manju reportedly told police that she had left home because she was unhappy with an arranged marriage. She later married another person and was living with him. She clarified that she did not know who Rajesh was.

The development has raised serious questions about the evidence gathered during the original investigation, the alleged forced confession and the circumstances that led to Rajesh’s arrest and imprisonment.

Mandya Superintendent of Police VJ Shobha Rani said the case had been handed over to the Srirangapatna Deputy SP for a detailed probe. Action would be initiated against the investigating officer based on the findings of the inquiry, SP Rani said.

The fresh investigation is expected to examine the role of the officers involved and establish how a missing-person case turned into a murder case despite the woman being alive.

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