Fan murder case: Darshan, three associates to be produced before court

Bengaluru, June 22: The Karnataka Police will produce Kannada superstar Darshan and his three associates before the court as their police custody ends on Saturday.

Police sources said that they would be remanded to judicial custody. The ninth accused, Dhanraj D. alias Raju (27), the 10th accused, Vinay V. (38), and the 14th accused, Pradosh (40), are the other three accused.

The court had earlier sent 13 accused, including Darshan’s ‘partner’ Pavithra Gowda, into judicial custody. They are currently lodged in the central prison of Parappana Agrahara in Bengaluru.

Police sources said that the investigation of the accused was over, and they would not seek further custody unless the need arose.

Meanwhile, deceased Renukaswamy’s father, Kashinath Shivanagoudar, told media in Chitradurga on Saturday that the Congress government and the police department had done a good job in the case.

He mentioned that the police had recovered his deceased son’s gold chain and ring. When asked about the accused, Shivanagoudar said that he does not have anything to say about those who did this to his son. "Let God give them sense," he stated.

The police have charged Darshan and others under IPC Sections 302 (murder), 201 (destruction of evidence, giving false statement), 120B (criminal conspiracy to commit an offence punishable with death), 364 (kidnap), 355 (assault, using criminal force intending to dishonour a person), 384 (extortion), 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), and 148 read with 149 (rioting, being armed with a deadly weapon).

The probe has revealed that Renukaswamy was a big fan of Darshan and had sent derogatory messages to Pavithra Gowda on social media.

The victim was allegedly kidnapped, brought to Bengaluru, kept in a shed, and brutally tortured to death.

Darshan, Pavithra Gowda, and 15 others have been arrested on charges of murdering Renukaswamy (33), a resident of Chitradurga. Sources claimed that on Wednesday, Darshan reportedly admitted to his involvement in the murder case, as per the remand copy submitted to the 24th ACMM court.