Renukaswamy Murder: Republic Accesses Disturbing Photos Showing Him Shirtless, Pleading in Tears

Bengaluru: The day after Bengaluru police filed a chargesheet against 17 accused in the Renukaswamy murder case, including Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa, Republic Kannada has exclusively accessed new photographs of the victim. These photos, captured moments before Renukaswamy's death, depict him shirtless and pleading with Darshan and his gang. 

Visible injury marks on Renukaswamy's body and photos from inside the shed where the murder occurred highlight the brutality of the crime. One image shows Renukaswamy shirtless, visibly distressed, and pleading with Darshan and his gang just moments before his death. 

His injuries are clear, and in the background, the lorry reportedly used in the attack is prominently seen. Crime scene photos further reveal Renukaswamy's condition and the lorry, which played a key role in the assault, against which he was struck at the crime scene.

Republic Media Network has also accessed several other images that show the megger used to administer an electric shock, a wooden branch, and a lathi used in the assault, as well as the rope involved in the attack. According to police sources, he was beaten up with clubs, given electric shock in his private parts, and thrown against the wall leading to multiple fractures.

"Fear writ large on a shirtless Renukaswamy’s face as he stared at the camera, the image is a tell-tale about the trauma he endured as he was given a torturous death," a police official said, adding, several injury marks are also seen all over his body.

In another picture, the victim is seen lying on the ground near a parked truck. The exclusive images give an inside look at the shed itself, the place where Renukaswamy was kidnapped, tortured and later killed. The gruesome photographs form part of the evidence the Bengaluru Police gathered during their investigation, which culminated in a comprehensive chargesheet being submitted to the court.

Police say Darshan and his gang had planned to kidnap Renukaswamy in Stony Brook. This detail was confirmed by statements made during a spot inspection after Darshan’s arrest. During the inspection, which included a reconstruction of the crime, police recorded Darshan’s statement in Stony Brook.

The chargesheet, described as "watertight" by Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda, has implicated 17 accused, including Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa. Comprising 3,991 pages across seven volumes and 10 files, the chargesheet was submitted to the 24th Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court. It includes statements from 231 witnesses, technical evidence, and reports from forensic laboratories, further strengthening the case.

The chargesheet also details that Renukaswamy's kidnapping was carefully planned, with Darshan and his accomplices executing the murder in cold blood.

Raghavendra, one of the accused who is part of Darshan's fan club in Chitradurga, had brought Renukaswamy to a shed in R R Nagar here, on the pretext that the actor wanted to meet him. It was in this shed that he was allegedly tortured and murdered.

Darshan along with his friend Pavithra Gowda and 15 others, who are accused in the case, are currently under judicial custody in different prisons in the state.

Police sources said Pavithra, who is accused number one, was the "major cause" for Renukaswamy’s murder, claiming that it has been proved from the probe that she instigated other accused, conspired with them, and took part in the crime.

Who Was Renukaswamy?

The 33-year-old Renukaswamy, originally from Lakshmi Venkateswara Barangay in Chitradurga, worked at a pharmacy and was a devoted fan of Darshan. Married just last year, his wife is now three months pregnant. Renukaswamy allegedly sent obscene messages to Pavithra Gowda, blaming her for the rift between Darshan and his wife, Vijayalakshmi. Reports indicate that he forwarded explicit images of himself to Gowda, boasting that he was "better" than Darshan in this regard. His body was found near a stormwater drain next to an apartment in Sumanahalli here on June nine.