MANDYA — A woman presumed murdered seven years ago walked into a police station alive, dismantling a fabricated homicide case that cost an innocent man more than two years behind bars.
The revelation shook the Karnataka state police establishment. On July 3, 2019, Manju walked out of her father's house in Mandya's Pandavapura taluk after being forced into an unwanted marriage. Desperate to contact the man she loved before eloping, she approached a stranger at a nearby bus stand to borrow a phone. That stranger was Rajesh, a resident of Ragimuddanahalli. That fleeting act of kindness destroyed his life.
He lent her the handset. She dialed home. She boarded a bus and vanished.
When Manju failed to return, her father, Nagaraju, lodged a missing person complaint. Police tracked the final outgoing call to Rajesh's mobile number, questioned him, and eventually closed the probe in 2021 as undetected.
Then the conspiracy ignited.
On August 11, 2021, Nagaraju marched back into the station with a fresh complaint. Backed by claims from two men—Ananthapadmanabha and Gurukumar—he alleged that Rajesh had abducted Manju in 2019, murdered her in cold blood, and dumped her corpse into the Cauvery River.
The case landed with Inspector Prabhakar.
Instead of verifying basic physical evidence, the officer arrested Rajesh on homicide charges. He conducted a cursory spot inspection at Paschimavahini, extracted an alleged confession, and rushed a complete murder chargesheet into court. There was no corpse. There was no forensic trail. There was only a paper narrative built on witness statements.
Rajesh was hauled to prison. He spent between two and two-and-a-half years trapped in judicial custody before his family and defense counsel secured bail.
Rajesh refused to accept the stigma of murder. Once outside the prison gates, he and his legal defense team launched an independent manhunt, scouring rural settlements across the district for traces of the woman he supposedly killed.
They found her.
Manju was living openly with her husband near Mandya's Nagamangala area, completely oblivious that a man was rotting in prison for her homicide. Rajesh's advocate alerted law enforcement, leading officers to register the discovery at the Bindiganavile Police Station before moving Manju to a Santwana Kendra shelter for formal recording of her statement.
She cleared Rajesh on the spot.
I do not even know who Rajesh is, nor do I know why my father filed such a case. He is completely innocent, and I am ready to give this statement anywhere.
Manju, in her official statement to police
Rajesh's family has demanded immediate criminal proceedings against Nagaraju for perjury and malicious prosecution, alongside disciplinary and penal action against retired Inspector Prabhakar for fabricating a homicide out of thin air.
| Case Parameter | Official Case Status |
|---|---|
| Accused Civilian | Rajesh, resident of Ragimuddanahalli (Exonerated) |
| Time Spent in Prison | 2 to 2.5 years in judicial custody |
| Investigating Officer | Inspector Prabhakar (Retired; now facing departmental inquiry) |
| Complainant | Nagaraju (Father of the alleged victim) |
| Location of Alleged Crime | Paschimavahini, Cauvery River, Mandya |
| Current Legal Action | Formal inquiry ordered under Mandya DySP |
Mandya Superintendent of Police Shobharani confirmed that the district administration will not sweep the institutional failure under the rug. She ordered a Deputy Superintendent of Police to lead a comprehensive inquiry into retired Inspector Prabhakar's probe, with an official report due before the court to determine criminal accountability for the officers who put an innocent man in jail.