Convict and Prison Official Arrested 8 Years After Escape on Forged Supreme Court Order

Bengaluru Police have arrested a life convict, Shankar A. Aradhya, along with a prison staff member, eight years after Aradhya was unlawfully released from Parappana Agrahara Central Prison on the strength of a forged Supreme Court order. Aradhya had been serving a life sentence in connection with a 2001 kidnapping-for-ransom case registered at Chickpet police station, following his conviction by a trial court in July 2004. After his subsequent appeals were dismissed by both the Karnataka High Court and the Supreme Court, Aradhya allegedly colluded with prison insiders in 2018 to fabricate a fake release order in exchange for financial consideration. The high-profile fraud came to light in May 2026 during an internal audit when the Superintendent (in-charge) of Bengaluru Central Prison discovered that the release paperwork submitted in Aradhya's name was completely fraudulent. Parappana Agrahara Police subsequently registered a fresh FIR alleging forgery, cheating, and criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code. Following a detailed investigation, officers traced both Aradhya and the prison official who facilitated his illicit release, bringing an end to an eight-year-long evasion of justice.