ctor Darshan Thoogudeepa arrives for medical checkup after arrest in connection with a murder case, at Bowring hospital in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
Credit: DH Photo
Bengaluru: A visibly distraught Darshan Thoogudeepa and Pavithra Gowda, who along with 11 others were arrested for the murder of Renukaswamy, walked out of the courtroom in Bengaluru as their police custody was extended by five days.
The 13 were produced before the 24th Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) on Saturday evening, a day before their six-day police custody ended on Sunday.
Sources revealed that the police probe had found that the victim was administered electric shocks, before being assaulted by wooden planks, kicked and punched.
A large crowd had gathered outside and in the hallway of the courtroom on Nrupathunga Road where the actor and the other suspects were produced. The majority of the crowd were lawyers and policemen, along with a few supporters of the actor.
While Darshan’s counsel pressed for judicial custody, the prosecution requested an extension of nine days saying there was an investigation yet to be done and additional recoveries to be made. The police through the prosecution said that 10 mobile phones were seized and Rs 30 lakh were recovered.
After hearing both sides, the magistrate decided to extend the police custody. Meanwhile, three others — Ravi, Jagadish alias Jagga and Anu Kumar — who had surrendered in Chitradurga, were not produced by the police.
Well-placed sources said that several material pieces of evidence, including CCTV footage, were recovered by the police.
“The objects used to assault the victim have been recovered and vehicles used in the crime have been impounded,” a source told DH. “Mahazar procedures have been done. The CCTV footage and mobile devices have to be analysed, which will be done in the coming days.”
Another source revealed that police had held a mahazar (recreation of the crime scene) at Darshan’s RR Nagar house late Friday.
Renukaswamy’s body was found disposed of near a drain in Sumanahalli on the morning of June 9. Police grilled four among the 13 arrested who had voluntarily surrendered the same day claiming responsibility for the murder over a financial dispute and found a larger conspiracy involving Darshan and Pavitra Gowda.
Police probe had revealed that Renukaswamy was brought from Chitradurga by another suspect, Raghavendra, to a shed in RR Nagar on June 8 where he was allegedly tortured and beaten to death. Renukaswamy had sent lewd messages and posted objectionable comments on Pavitra’s social media, which led to the murder, the police said.
Apart from Darshan and Pavithra, the other arrested are Vinay V, Nagaraju R, Laxman M, Pradosh S, Pawan K, Deepak Kumar M, Nandish, Nikhil Nayak, Karthik, Keshava Murthy, Ravi, Jagadish alias Jagga and Anu Kumar.