• The mother of two was living with her paramour for five years
• Husband was sent to jail for two years for her ‘murder’
• Accused, who was on bail, spotted her at a hotel and informed Police

Mysuru: In a news that reads like a movie script, a woman presumed to be dead was found alive and ‘loving’ after five years. It also now brings relief to her husband, who has been accused of her murder. 

As fate would have it April Fool’s Day turned out to be a day when Suresh, the woman’s husband, would not be fooled anymore as he saw his wife alive and well, enjoying evening snacks with her alleged paramour at a hotel in Madikeri on Apr. 1.

Suresh had served two years in jail before being released on bail for the ‘murder’ of his missing wife Mallige. In fact, he had also performed the last rites of the skeleton believed be of his wife found five years back.

After finding Mallige alive, a case was filed before the Fifth Additional District and Sessions Court in Mysuru and the Judge after hearing the case issued notices to Police personnel attached to Bettadapura Police Station and also Mysuru SP to appear before the Court today.

The Court also ordered the District Police to provide protection for Mallige following which she was sent to State Home for Women. 

Following the notice from the Court, Mysuru SP N. Vishnuvardhana and Bettadapura Police personnel appeared before the Court this morning and also presented Mallige before the Judge.

Earlier, speaking to Star of Mysore SP Vishnuvardhana said that he had collected the information of the case and the investigation conducted from the Bettadapura Police.

“This is a special case. The family had also identified the body before the last rites were performed. We will provide all necessary information to the Court,” he said.

Forced confession?

Suresh, resident of Basavanahalli, Kushalnagar, had married Mallige 18 years ago and the couple had two children. However, during November 2020 Mallige suddenly went missing following which Suresh filed a missing person complaint at Kushalnagar Rural Police Station.

The case had gone cold after the Police had exhausted all their resources to find Mallige. However, the case took a turn seven months later when in June 2021, Police personnel from Bettadapura Police Station in Periyapatna arrived at Kushalnagar and took Suresh to Bettadapura to identify the body of a woman they had found.

On arriving at Bettadapura Police Station, it is alleged that Suresh was forced to identify the skeleton, the clothing and the slippers as his wife Mallige’s and also was coerced to confess to having murdered her. Following this, an FIR was registered and Suresh was jailed.

DNA comes to Suresh’s rescue

City’s Advocate Pandu Pujari, who took up Suresh’s case, requested the Court to order a DNA test on the skeleton supposedly of Mallige. The Court accepted the application and ordered for the DNA test.

The DNA test result came out as negative which proved that the skeleton was not Mallige’s. Despite this, Suresh continued to languish in jail for two years. It was only after Advocate Pandu moved High Court that the bail was granted to Suresh last year.

Mallige found !

On Apr. 1 evening, Suresh and his friends were sitting at a hotel in Madikeri having tea when Suresh saw someone familiar, someone who looked like the mother of his two children. As he walked closer to get a better view, he was shocked to find it was his ‘dead’ wife who was alive and snacking with her alleged paramour.

Suresh immediately informed the Madikeri Police who arrived at the hotel and took the now alive Mallige into custody.

During interrogation, Mallige is said to have informed the Police that she had been living with her paramour Ganesh at Shettigeri village in Virajpet Taluk for the past five years.

Later, the Madikeri Police handed over Mallige to Kushalnagar Police who then gave custody to Bettadapura Police Station where the murder case had been registered.

After having produced Mallige before the Court, the Fifth Additional District and Sessions Judge served notices to Mysuru SP, Investigating Officer of Bettadapura Police Station and other Police personnel connected to the case, appear before the Court this morning.

With Mallige now found alive, the case is said to turn even more murkier with the big question; whose skeleton was found in Bettadapura which was mistaken for Mallige’s and did Police force Suresh to confess to a murder he did not commit?