A file image of Darshan arriving at the City Magistrate Court In Bengaluru.
Credit: DH Photo
Bengaluru: A court on Monday ordered four men arrested for the murder of Chitradurga native Renukaswamy to be moved from Bengaluru's Central Prison to the district jail in Tumakuru.
The four are Karthik (accused number 15), Nikhil Nayak (A17), Keshavamurthy (A16) and Ravishankar (A8).
Karthik, Nayak, Keshavamurthy and a fourth arrested suspect Raghavendra, the president of Kannada film star Darshan Thoogudeepa's fan club in Chitradurga, had surrendered before the police on June 10, claiming responsibility for Renukaswamy’s murder over a financial dispute. The previous day, Renukaswamy's body was found discarded near a stormwater drain in western Bengaluru's Sumanahalli.
Ravishankar, as per the police probe, drove the car that ferried Renukaswamy to Bengaluru. He later surrendered in Chitradurga.
Further investigation revealed the names of actor Darshan, his female friend Pavithra Gowda and others.
When Darshan, Dhanraj D, Vinay V and Pradosh S, who were in extended police custody, were produced before the magistrate on Saturday, Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) P Prasanna Kumar made a plea regarding moving some of the suspects to the Tumakuru jail.
On Monday, Kumar argued before the judge that "the said accused were contacted by the other co-accused to agree that they committed the murder. Therefore, there is a likely threat to their lives if they continue staying at the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison in Bengaluru."
"The submission was made to shift the four forthwith to the district prison in Tumakuru keeping in mind their safety,” Kumar told DH. "It was accepted by the court."
Darshan, Pavithra and 11 others will continue to remain in judicial custody at the Parappana Agarahara Central Prison.