Renukaswamy murder case: Darshan sent to police custody, Pavithra to jail

BENGALURU: Actor Darshan Thoogudeepa and three of his associates arrested on charges of murdering his fan Renukaswamy were Thursday remanded in police custody for two days, while his girlfriend Pavithra Gowda and six other accused in the case were sent to judicial custody for 14 days and moved to Central Prison, Parappana Agrahara.
The 10 accused were produced before the additional chief metropolitan magistrate's court here on Thursday.
Special public prosecutor P Prasanna Kumar sought four more days' custody of Darshan, Dhanraj alias Raju, Vinay V and Pradosh, citing eight reasons, but the judge remanded them in police custody for two days.
Darshan and the three others were taken back to Annapoorneshwarinagar police station for further investigation. They will again be produced in court by 5pm on Saturday.
Destruction of proof
Pradosh, a software engineer, played a major role in destroying evidence and he isn't cooperating with the investigation. He had visited the parking yard in Pattanagere along with another person. He is tight-lipped about the other person, police said.
Another accused, Dhanaraj, had confessed to having purchased an electric charge torch and it was used to give shock to Renukaswamy. He is yet to reveal from where he bought it. Dhanaraj also visited the crime spot with a few others and he hasn't revealed their names.
According to police, crucial evidence was found in the mobile phone of Vinay and they needed to question the sender. A senior police officer said the evidence is a video related to Renukaswamy.
The eighth and final reason cited was that a few employees working in the shed have been threatened not to give witness statements and were also offered money for the same. The accused and the employees of the shed need to be questioned in this regard, police added.
‘Darshan, three other accused have criminal history’
While seeking his custody, police argued that actor Darshan could destroy evidence, highlighting that he had earlier been named in other criminal cases.
Police said a case was registered against him at Vijayanagar police station in 2011 for assaulting his wife Vijayalakshmi. He was arrested under the domestic violence law and Arms Act and sent to jail. He was a suspect in a case registered under the Wildlife Protection Act registered at T Narasipura. He was accused of having four bar-headed geese in his farmhouse.
A case was registered against Darshan at Rajarajeshwarinagar police station under IPC Section 289 after his dog attacked a law practitioner in Oct last year.
Another accused in the Renukaswamy murder case, Raghavendra, president of Darshan Fans’ Association, Chitradurga, had been booked for extortion and cheating by Chitradurga Town police in 2015.
Accused Karthik, a resident of Girinagar, was involved in a criminal intimidation and abetment case registered at Talaghattapura police station in 2015.
Another suspect, Keshavamurthy, a resident of Girinagar, was booked under the Arms Act and in a case of preparation for committing dacoity registered at Girinagar police station in 2024 and 2016, respectively.