Renukaswamy murder case: Actor Darshan, 12 others remanded to 6-day police custody

Leading Kannada film actor Darshan Thoogudeepa and 12 others have been remanded to six-day police custody in connection with the murder of Renukaswamy in Chitradurga, has been remanded to police custody.

On Tuesday morning police arrested Darshan from Mysuru and brought to Bengaluru for questioning. He was later produced before a magistrate’s court for a medical examination.

It is alleged that Renukaswamy, who worked with a pharma company and hailed from Chitradurga, had made derogatory comments against actress Pavithra Gowda, a close friend of Darshan, in social media posts, the sources said.

After the alleged killing at a shed at Pattanagere under Kamakshipalya police station limits, allegedly belonging to one of the aides of Darshan, Renukaswamy’s body was dumped into a stormwater drain in Kamakshipalya, police sources said.

“Based on the recovery of the body of an unidentified man and the injuries on his body, a murder case was registered. On the basis of CCTV footage and other technical evidence, the deceased was identified as Renukaswamy,” Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda said. Preliminary investigation reveals that the deceased had sent objectionable messages to Darshan’s friend Pavithra Gowda.

Police came to know about the murder after some local residents alerted them about the body, which was later sent for an autopsy and the forensic report confirmed that he was murdered, police sources said.

“Police had arrested some suspects during the investigation. Based on their statement, Darshan and Pavithra were taken into custody,” Home Minister G Parameshwara said.