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Bail pleas of Darshan, Pavithra rejected
The charges pertain to kidnapping and subsequent murder of Renukaswamy, who was reportedly abducted from Chitradurga
The bail applications of actor Darshan Thoogudeepa and his partner Pavithra Gowda were rejected by the 57th CCH court in Bengaluru on Monday. The two, the primary accused in the murder of 33-year-old Renukaswamy, had applied for bail three weeks ago.
“Out of the six accused in the case, only two — Ravi Shankar and Deepak Kumar — received bail, while the court dismissed the requests from Darshan, Gowda, Nagaraj, and Lakshman,” said a court official familiar with the development.
Both actors were detained on June 11, facing allegations of torture and murder. Initially held at Bengaluru Central Prison, Darshan was moved to Ballari after images circulated on social media showing him smoking and drinking coffee while incarcerated. Pavithra Gowda remains at Bengaluru Central Prison.
The charges pertain to kidnapping and subsequent murder of Renukaswamy, who was reportedly abducted from Chitradurga. He was allegedly held in a shed at Pattanagere, where he suffered brutal assaults before his body was discovered in a drain at Sumanahalli. A total of 17 people, including Darshan and Gowda, were arrested on June 11 in connection with this incident.
On September 4, the authorities submitted a detailed charge sheet totalling 3,991 pages to the 24th Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court. This document provided explicit accounts of how Renukaswamy was assaulted, culminating in his death. Additionally, it was revealed that Renukaswamy had used a fake Instagram account under the name Gowtham to interact with Pavithra Gowda.
It has been alleged that Darshan and his associates tortured the 33-year-old, ultimately killing him, due to derogatory messages he had sent to Pavithra Gowda, Darshan’s long-term partner. The post-mortem report revealed that Renukaswamy had been subjected to electric shocks and had died due to shock and hemorrhage.
Among the 17 people arrested, three have already been granted bail, leaving Darshan and Gowda to navigate further legal proceedings. Representing Darshan was senior advocate CV Nagesh, while Pavithra Gowda was defended by Tommy Sebastian. The prosecution was led by special public prosecutor P Prasanna Kumar.
