Bengaluru: A city court on Thursday extended the judicial custody of Kannada film actor Darshan Thoogudeepa his friend Pavithra Gowda, and 15 others – all arrested in the Renukaswamy murder case – till August 14.
Darshan, Pavithra and 15 others are accused in Renukaswamy murder case
Darshan, Pavithra and 15 others are accused in the murder case of 33-year-old Renukaswamy, who is said to be a fan of film star Darshan. Renukaswamy allegedly made derogatory comments against Pavithra on social media, which allegedly enraged the actor, allegedly leading to his murder.
The 24th Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court, presided over by Judge Vishwanath C Gowder, extended the judicial custody after all the accused persons appeared for the hearing before the court via video conference from Parappana Agrahara and Tumkur jails, news agency PTI reported.
Renukaswamy was allegedly tortured and killed in a shed in RR Nagar
It has been alleged that Raghavendra, one of the accused in the Renukaswamy murder case and part of Darshan’s fan club in Chitradurga, had brought Chitradurga-based Renukaswamy to a shed in RR Nagar on the pretext that film star Darshan wanted to meet him and it has been alleged that Renukaswamy was tortured and killed in this shed.
The body of deceased Renukaswamy was found near a stormwater drain on June 9.
Darshan, Pavithra were arrested in connection with the Renukaswamy murder case on June 11
Further investigation by the police into the case led to arrest of 11 suspects and Darshan and Pavithra were taken into custody on June 11 based on the statement of the suspects.
The police came to know about the murder after some local residents alerted the police about the body. Later, an autopsy and the forensic report confirmed the murder of Renukaswamy. The post-mortem report revealed that Renukaswamy died due to shock and haemorrhage as a result of multiple blunt injuries.