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Kurubara Suresh, a tribal man from Basavanahalli in Karnataka’s Kushalnagar taluk, has approached the Karnataka High Court seeking Rs 5 crore in compensation after spending nearly 18 months in jail following a wrongful arrest on charges of murdering his wife, who was later found alive.
Suresh, who belongs to the Jenu Kuruba community, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), was arrested in 2020 after his wife, Mallige, went missing from their home. Although Suresh himself had filed a missing person complaint with Kushalnagar Rural Police, the Bettadapura police registered a murder case against him after skeletal remains of a woman were found within their jurisdiction. He was coerced into confessing the murder of his wife.
Over a year later, a DNA test confirmed that the skeleton did not belong to Mallige, who was later traced to Shettihalli village, around 30 km from Madikeri, living with another man.
In April 2025, the 5th Additional District and Sessions Court in Mysuru acquitted Suresh honourably and ordered the Karnataka Home Department to pay him Rs 1 lakh as compensation.
However, dissatisfied with the compensation amount and the limited accountability of police officials, Suresh has filed a criminal appeal in the High Court, demanding Rs 5 crore in damages and legal action against five police officials involved in the case.
The appeal names then Investigating Officer and Inspector Prakash BG, then Additional Superintendent of Police Jitendra Kumar, Sub-Inspectors Prakash Yattimani and Mahesh BK, and Assistant Sub-Inspector Somashekara, accusing them of fabricating and falsifying evidence against him.
While the Sessions court had directed that only Inspector Prakash BG be booked for fabrication, the High Court plea demands similar action against all five officers. It also seeks a modification of the Sessions Court’s order to replace the word “accused” with “victim” when referring to Suresh.
Earlier, TNM had reported on the custodial brutality Suresh faced during the investigation, including being forced to confess, the police ignoring the DNA report, and falsely declaring a random skeleton as Mallige’s body.