Kannada Actor Darshan, Pavithra Gowda Remanded To 7 Days Police Custody In Murder Case

Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa and his rumoured girlfriend and actress Pavithra Gowda were arrested on Tuesday in connection with the murder of Renukaswamy. A native of Chitradurga, who worked with a pharma company, had made "derogatory" comments against Pavithra in social media posts, the sources said. Along with them, the Bengaluru police have arrested 12 others who were allegedly involved in the murder of Renukaswamy.

Darshan was remanded to 7 days of police custody

After being arrested, Darshan and Pavithra were produced before a Bengaluru Magistrate court, which remanded them to seven days of police custody, as per the news agency PTI. The 47-year-old actor was detained from a Mysuru hotel as he stepped out after working out in the gym there, in connection with the murder here, police said.

Reportedly, Darshan's driver and gunman killed Renukaswamy at a shed at Pattanagere under Kamakshipalya police station limits and dumped his body into a nearby stormwater drain, police sources said. "Based on the recovery of the dead body of an unidentified man and the injuries on his body, a murder case was registered. Based on CCTV footage and other technical evidence, the deceased was identified as Renukaswamy," Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda said.

Police came to know about the incident after residents alerted them about an unidentified body, which was later sent for an autopsy and the forensic report confirmed that he was murdered, police sources said. Further investigation led to the arrest of 11 suspects, who confessed to Darshan's involvement.

"We are probing to find out if the actor was directly involved in the murder or was part of the conspiracy," a police official said.

Darshan's ardent fans protested outside police station

A violent protest erupted in Bengaluru when fans of Darshan set buses on fire and gathered in front of the Vijaynagar police station. The police had to resort to lathi-charging the crowd to disperse them. The protest broke out after  Darshan Thoogudeepa was taken into custody on Tuesday in a murder case and being questioned. Police have provided tight security at the house of Darshan.