Bengaluru: Famous Kannada film actor Darshan Thoogudeepa was arrested on Tuesday for the alleged murder of a man whose body was found in a storm-water drain here on June 9.
Sources said the deceased Renuka Swamy, 33, who worked with a pharmacy company and hailed from the district headquarters town of Chitradurga, had made derogatory comments on social media against actress Pavithra Gowda, the rumoured girlfriend of Darshan. Along with Darshan, Pavithra and 11 other accomplices were arrested by police in the case.
Darshan, 47, was picked up from a hotel in Mysuru. The actor, who made his debut as a lead actor in the movie 'Majestic' in 2002, has featured in several commercially successful films including 'Kariya', 'Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna', 'Kalasipalya', 'Gaja', 'Navagraha', 'Saarathi', 'Bulbul', 'Yajamana', 'Robert' and 'Kaatera'.
"Darshan Thoogudeepa has been taken into custody for his alleged role in a murder case that took place in the area falling under Kamakshipalya Police Station limits," Bengaluru Police Commissioner B. Dayanand said. "Preliminary information revealed that the murdered person was sending obscene messages to a woman. Further investigation is going on," Dayanand added.
Later in the day, all 13, including actor Darshan and Pavithra were taken to Bowring Hospital for medical examination. They were produced in a local court on Tuesday and were sent to police custody till June 17. A heavy police presence was made near the hospital as a precautionary measure.
The Crime Scene
On the morning of June 9, a security guard at Anugraha Apartment spotted a body on the road sit near a drain, and informed the police. Since the body carried multiple injuries, the Kamakshipalya police station officials registered an FIR under sections 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of an offense), and began the investigation.
Reports said the victim Renuka Swamy had around 15 injury marks on his body, most of them on his face and skull, and it seemed he was repeatedly hit by a blunt object. The body was sent for an autopsy and the forensic report confirmed that he was murdered. Further investigation led to the arrest of some suspects, who spilled the beans, a police official said. Based on their statements, police arrested Darshan and Pavithra.
The murder took place on June 8 evening at a shed allegedly belonging to one of the aides of Darshan. Renuka Swamy's body was dumped into a stormwater drain in Kamakshipalya, police sources said. The victim's parents were inconsolable after learning about the murder. "He was my only son. Last year he got married. I spoke to him on Saturday only. I want justice," his father Srinivasaiah told reporters at Kamakshipalya police station.
How did it happen?
Police sources said that Renuka Swamy made taunting and insulting comments about Darshan’s rumoured girlfriend whenever she posted her pictures with the actor. Enraged by this, Darshan allegedly called Chitradurga Fan Association president and asked him to find out the whereabouts of Renuka Swamy and bring him to Bengaluru. Renuka Swamy was eventually picked up from Chitradurga and taken to Bengaluru, where he was kept in the shed and allegedly tortured to death.
