Came to learn English, jailed for 19 days: Japanese man gets Rs 75,000 after 7 years

A Japanese national received Rs 75,000 in compensation from the Karnataka government in June this year over his wrongful detention by the police in Bengaluru back in 2019.The order, passed by the Karnataka State Human Rights Commission (KSHRC), came after a prolonged seven-year legal battle.Hirotoshi Tanaka, who was visiting Bengaluru in 2019 to study English at a private academy, was arrested following a physical altercation with the institute's director over irregular classes.Police had invoked sections pertaining to bailable offences, including those related to criminal intimidation and voluntarily causing hurt, against the Japanese man as part of the legal proceedings. He was then sent to judicial custody and was kept in Bengaluru Central Prison for 19 days. Tanaka was subsequently shifted to a detention centre and deported to Japan in 2021.He later approached the KSHRC and continued to pursue the case remotely. Recently, the human rights panel ruled that Tanaka was kept in unnecessary judicial custody despite facing bailable charges. It directed the Karnataka government to provide monetary compensation to him and initiate disciplinary action against the police personnel responsible for his ordeal. Tanaka has confirmed that he received the Rs 75,000 through his legal counsel in India."My advocate received Rs 75,000 from the police on June 22, and he transferred the same amount to my Indian wife on June 23," he said.Tanaka further said that the money had to be routed through his spouse's bank account as his own account does not handle transactions in Indian rupees.- EndsPublished On: Aug 24, 2026 12:42 IST