Kannada actor Darshan, friend Pavithra sent to six-day police custody in murder case

Bengaluru: A court in Bengaluru has remanded Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa, his long-time friend Pavithra Gowda and 11 others to six days of police custody in connection with the murder of a man from Chitradurga. 

Darshan, 47, an A-lister of Kannada cinema, is accused of orchestrating the kidnapping and murder of 33-year-old Renukaswamy, who allegedly posted lewd messages about Pavithra on Instagram. 

A team of Kamakshipalya police from Bengaluru apprehended Darshan at the Radisson Blu Plaza hotel in Mysuru, his hometown, around 8:30 am on Tuesday. He was subsequently brought to Bengaluru and taken to Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital for a medical examination. 

By the evening, Darshan, Pavithra and the 11 other suspects were presented before the 24th Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court on Nrupathunga Road. The court granted the police's request to interrogate them in custody for six days. 

Renukaswamy’s body was discovered in a drain near an apartment complex in northwestern Bengaluru's Sumanahalli on the morning of June 9. The following day, four suspects surrendered to the police, claiming they murdered Renukaswamy over a financial dispute. 

Police sources told DH that Renukaswamy was brought from Chitradurga to Bengaluru on June 8, put up in a shed in RR Nagar owned by one of the suspects, and severely beaten. He sustained fatal injuries to his groin and at least 10 other places. His body was then transported approximately 12 km to Sumanahalli, in northwestern Bengaluru, and discarded in a drain. 

As the police dug deeper, a larger conspiracy surrounding the murder was uncovered, leading to suspicion falling on Darshan, the sources explained. 

"We have taken him (Darshan) into custody for the murder of a man named Renukaswamy. The case has been registered at the Kamakshipalya police station," S Girish, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West), said.