MANDYA: In a bizarre twist to a six-year-old missing-person case that turned into a murder investigation, a 35-year-old woman who was presumed dead has resurfaced in Mandya district, raising questions over the arrest and imprisonment of a man accused of killing her.
Manju N, who went missing from Pandavapura in June 2019, was traced to Mayigonahalli village in Nagamangala taluk on Wednesday, where she has been living with her husband, Nagendra, from Chamarajanagar.
This has come as huge relief to Rajesh M R, alias Kaala, who spent nearly two-and-a-half years in prison after being accused of murdering her.
Manju told the police that she had left home as her family had forced her into a marriage against her wishes. She subsequently married Nagendra, lived in Tamil Nadu for about a year and later settled in Mayigonahalli.
She said she did not know Rajesh. She has, reportedly, expressed willingness to give a statement before any authority to establish the facts.
Man claims custodial torture, lapses in probe
Manju, daughter of Nagaraju of Hirode Beedi in Pandavapura, was married to Manjunath of Neelanakoppalu village in Srirangapatna taluk in 2019. As she was suffering from ill health, she returned to her father’s house in May 2019 for treatment.
On the night of June 23, 2019, she went missing when her father, who lived with her, left for his security guard duty. Nagaraju lodged a missing-person complaint at Pandavapura police station on July 3.
During the investigation, the police found that Manju had made her last phone call from Rajesh’s mobile phone after accidentally meeting him at the bus stand in Pandavapura.
However, it was only in 2021, nearly two years after her disappearance, that Nagaraju lodged a complaint alleging that Rajesh had murdered his daughter by pushing her into the Cauvery in Srirangapatna on July 23, 2019.
The missing-person case was subsequently converted into a murder case, and Rajesh was arrested and remanded in judicial custody. He remained behind bars for approximately two-and-a-half years before securing bail in January 2024.
After finding out the whereabouts of Manju with the help of an advocate, Natesh, Rajesh and his family members have now come in public alleging police brutality during the investigation.
Rajesh alleged that he was assaulted, administered electric shocks and threatened with the arrest of his family members including his sister and brother-in-law, by the police to force him to confess to a murder he had not committed.
He alleged custodial torture and lapses in the investigation under the then Pandavapura police inspector Prabhakar which has now come under scrutiny.
After Manju was spotted, Rajesh’s father Ramesh approached the Bindiganavile police station on Wednesday, urging the police to protect his son and ensure justice, pointing out that the woman he was accused of murdering was alive.
Bindiganavile police sub-inspector told TNIE that they brought Manju to the station and referred her to a centre run by the Department of Women and Child Development.
In a similar case, a man who spent two years in jail on charges of murdering his wife was released after his wife was found alive last year. Suresh (35) was jailed on charges of killing his wife, Mallige, in 2023.
However, she was found living with another man after two years. The local court had directed the Mysuru SP to register an FIR against the then investigation officer of the case.