Bengaluru:

The jailer of the Ballari Prison has warned the Kannada actor Darshan not to create any fuss over facilities provided to him inside the prison.

“There will be serious consequences if you continue with this arrogant and obstinate attitude,” the jailer has reportedly told the actor.

Sources said that Darshan has been frequently arguing with the prison staff over facilities as the jailer informed him that they could only provide what is available within the prison and advised him to submit a petition to the court if he requires additional facilities.

The jailer also reminded Darshan that the court is closely observing his behaviour in custody and his adherence to prison rules. Instead of cooperating with the prison authorities, Darshan has been violating disciplinary norms, the jailer reportedly told him.

Darshan was also found making inappropriate gestures toward the media and his family when being brought for a family meeting. Additionally, he made demands for a television of his choice, according to sources.

They said that Darshan has become increasingly frustrated in prison as his bail petition has yet to be submitted to the court. In typical cases, murder accused are granted bail after 90 days or after the charge sheet is filed. However, in Darshan’s case, with photos surfacing of him receiving luxurious treatment inside the Bengaluru Prison at the time of the charge sheet submission, the bail petition was delayed.

Recently, he was seen making gestures toward the media at the Ballari Prison.

Pavithra Gowda, Darshan’s partner and the prime accused in the fan murder case, withdrew her bail petition from the High Court. Her counsel had vehemently argued that the court should consider her status as a woman and a single mother when granting her bail.

The court extended the judicial custody of Darshan, his partner Pavithra Gowda and 15 other accused in the fan murder case till September 17.

The Bengaluru Police recently submitted a 3,991-page charge sheet to the court against Darshan and others accused in connection with the kidnap and murder of his fan Renukaswamy.

Darshan, Pavithra Gowda, and his associates are in the dock for the gruesome murder of Darshan’s fan Renukaswamy in Bengaluru on June 8. Renukaswamy was kidnapped from his hometown, Chitradurga, brought to Bengaluru, kept in a shed, and tortured to death. After he died, his body was thrown into a canal.

The incident came to light after the security personnel of a private apartment building saw the body being dragged by a pack of dogs.

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Bengaluru:

The prison authorities have provided a television to jailed Kannada superstar Darshan on the occasion of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival. Darshan, along with his partner Pavithra Gowda and 15 others is facing charges of kidnapping and murdering his fan, Renukaswamy.

Sources said that the prison authorities allowed the installation of a 32-inch television in Darshan’s cell on early Saturday. Darshan had requested a television from the prison authorities last week, stating that he wanted to keep up with news regarding the submission of the chargesheet in his case and was ‘curious’ to know what was happening in the outside world.

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Sources said that there is a provision to provide a television as per prison guidelines and the delay occurred because the television had to be repaired. The prison authorities had earlier obliged Darshan’s request for a surgical chair, as he was unable to use the Indian toilet available in his cell. Darshan had also requested permission to make phone calls which he was allowed.

They said that Rs 35,000 was deposited into the prisoner’s private account, and he had spent Rs 735 on tea and coffee ordered from the jail canteen. The sources revealed that Darshan has been under pressure following the submission of the charge sheet against him and is worried about the consequences.

Meanwhile, the charge sheet has revealed the cruelty Darshan unleashed on Renukaswamy during his captivity. It mentions that Darshan and the other accused forced Renukaswamy to eat non-vegetarian food, knowing that he was a vegetarian. When Renukaswamy spat out the biryani, Darshan kicked him, berating him for spitting out the food.

Darshan reportedly kicked him repeatedly even as Renukaswamy was bleeding and critically injured. Darshan later travelled to Mysuru city wearing the same shoes, which had traces of Renukaswamy’s blood. However, when the police arrested Darshan the next morning, he was wearing a different pair of shoes. The hotel staff had packed his blood-stained shoes and other belongings and sent them to the residence of Darshan’s wife, Vijayalaxmi, in Bengaluru.

The police later seized all articles belonging to Darshan from Vijayalaxmi’s residence. Sources said that the bloodstain on Darshan’s shoes is one of the crucial pieces of evidence in the case to prove his involvement in the murder.

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Bengaluru:

Karnataka Police submitted the chargesheet in the sensational kidnap and murder case of Renukaswamy which has established the role of jailed Kannada superstar Darshan and also detailed the brutal and inhumane torture before his death.

“After being assaulted by Darshan and his gang, Renukaswamy’s chest bones were broken. There are a total of 39 injury marks all over his body. There is also a deep cut on the victim’s head,” reads the chargesheet.

It added that the gang reportedly used a megger machine, an electrical device used to measure insulation resistance, to deliver electric shocks to Renukaswamy’s private parts.

“Darshan and his gang used the megger device to damage Renukaswamy’s testicle,” the chargesheet says.

Another source said that Renukaswamy endured unheard-of and inhuman torture before being hacked to death.

“After committing the murder, Darshan and the other accused used their influence and money to dispose of the body and attempted to destroy evidence. They also tried to frame other individuals to escape charges,” the chargesheet said.

It said that with the common intention of committing the crime, they destroyed physical, technical, and scientific evidence and attempted to destroy further evidence.

Darshan is named as the second accused in the case, and his legal team is preparing to submit a bail plea. However, police sources said that since he is booked in three new cases related to luxury treatment inside the prison, obtaining bail will not be an easy task.

The police found traces of Renukaswamy’s blood on the clothes seized from Darshan. They also retrieved messages sent by his associates during the kidnapping, confinement, torture, murder, and disposal of Renukaswamy’s body.

After the incident, Darshan had gone to Mysuru for the shoot of his upcoming movie, “Devil.” A team from Bengaluru Police, headed by ACP Chandan Kumar, arrested him in a hotel after cracking the case.

Sources said Darshan tried to resist the arrest. However, ACP Chandan Kumar ordered him to get into the police jeep or face being dragged in, with further strong action as per the rules.

Darshan is one of the few superstars in the Kannada film industry. The budding industry, which had started to make its mark at the national level, has suffered a significant setback in light of these developments.

In the chargesheet, Pavithra Gowda is labelled as A-1, and Darshan as A-2. Fourteen individuals have been charged with murder, and 14 others face charges of abduction and murder. Karthik alias Kappe, Keshavamurthy, and Nikhil Nayak are charged with destruction of evidence.

The first volume contains a summary report of the case. The second volume comprises voluntary statements of 17 accused individuals. Volume number three has details of evidence both direct and circumstantial. The fourth volume has the post-mortem and Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) reports.

The fifth volume contains the FSL and CSFL analysis.

Sources said that after the receipt of the chargesheet copies to all the accused persons, the 24th ACMM court will commit the case and transfer it to the sessions court.

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Kannada actor Darshan Toogudeepa, who is in judicial custody in connection with the Renukaswamy murder case, has petitioned the Karnataka High Court seeking a direction to the prison authorities to allow him home-cooked food in the jail. He has also sought cutlery, clothing, bedding, and books.

In his petition, he has also noted that he has lost weight by several kilograms as he is unable to eat and digest the food provided at the prison.

It is also mentioned that the actor suffered from diarrhoea and the prison doctors suspected food poisoning.

According to the petitioner, Section 30 of the Karnataka Prisons Act, 1963, allows undertrial prisoners to receive these materials subject to examination and to such rules as may be approved by IGP (Prisons). The petition is yet to be listed for hearing.

According to police sources, 33-year-old Renukaswamy, a fan of the actor, had sent obscene messages to Darshan’s close friend Pavithra Gowda, a co-accused in the case, which enraged the actor, allegedly leading to his murder.

His body was found near a stormwater drain next to an apartment in Sumanahalli here on June 9. 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 on June 8.

According to the post-mortem report, Renukaswamy, a native of Chitradurga, died due to shock and haemorrhage as a result of multiple blunt injuries.

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. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)