Bengaluru court extends judicial custody of Darshan, other accused till Sept 17

Bengaluru: A court here on Friday extended till September 17 the judicial custody of Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa along with his friend Pavithra Gowda and others, who are accused in the Renukaswamy murder case.

All the 17 accused, including Darshan and Pavithra, were produced before the 24th Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court through video conferencing from various prisons across the state, where they are lodged, as their judicial custody ended today.

Police on September 4 had submitted to the court a 3,991-page preliminary chargesheet to the court in the case.

The 47-year-old actor is currently lodged in Ballari prison. He was shifted there from the Parappana Agrahara Central jail here by obtaining court permission, after a photograph of him hanging out with three others, including a rowdy-sheeter, on the lawns of the jail had gone viral, sparking an uproar.

In the picture, the actor is seen in a relaxed mood, sitting on a chair and holding a cigarette and a coffee mug. Also, a purported video of Darshan speaking to a person over a video call from the prison too had surfaced on social media.

The court had also permitted shifting of other co-accused in the murder case to various prisons in the state.

Other accused — Pawan, Raghavendra and Nandish — are now lodged in Mysuru, Jagadish and Lakshmana in Shivamogga, Dhanraj in Dharwad, Vinay in Vijayapura, Nagaraj in Kalaburagi/Gulbarga Jail, and Pradosh in Belagavi Jail.

Three accused -‘ Pavithra Gowda, Anukumar, and Deepak — continue to remain at Parappana Agrahara Central Jail here. Four accused — Ravi, Karthik, Nikhil and Keshavamurthy — were earlier shifted to Tumakuru prison and they continue to remain lodged there.

Nine prison officials, including the Chief Superintendent of the Parappana Agrahara jail, were suspended over their “lapses” after a preliminary probe into “special treatment” to Darshan.

Also, three FIRs were registered, including against Darshan, under sections of the Prisons Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

According to police sources, 33-year-old Renukaswamy, a fan of the actor, had sent obscene messages to Pavithra, which enraged Darshan, allegedly leading to his murder. His body was found near a stormwater drain next to an apartment in Sumanahalli here on June nine.

Raghavendra, one of the accused who is part of Darshan’s fan club in Chitradurga, had brought Renukaswamy to a shed in R R Nagar here, on the pretext that the actor wanted to meet him. It was in this shed that he was allegedly tortured and murdered.

According to the post-mortem report, Renukaswamy, a native of Chitradurga, died due to shock and haemorrhage as a result of multiple blunt injuries.

Police sources said Pavithra, who is accused number one, was the “major cause” for Renukaswamy’s murder and claimed that it has been proved from the probe that she instigated other accused, conspired with them, and took part in the crime.