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Hearing of Darshan’s bail plea adjourned
A city civil court on Monday adjourned the hearing of a bail plea filed by Darshan Thoogudeepa, Pavithra Gowda, and others in connection with the Renukaswamy murder case
A city civil court on Monday adjourned the hearing of a bail plea filed by Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa, Pavithra Gowda, and others in connection with the Renukaswamy murder case. The case, which has drawn significant public attention, involves the murder of 33-year-old Renukaswamy, allegedly orchestrated by Darshan and his associates.
At the hearing held at the 57th additional city civil and sessions court, advocate Sunil Kumar, representing Darshan, requested additional time to present his arguments. He cited objections raised by the special public prosecutor and informed the court that a senior advocate on Darshan’s legal team was unavailable due to personal reasons. In response, justice Jaishankar granted the request and postponed the hearing until October 4. The court also adjourned the bail pleas of the other accused to the same date.
This development follows the release of three associates of Darshan on bail. On September 23, Keshavamurthy, one of the accused, was granted bail by the Karnataka high court under an order issued by justice Vishwajit Shetty. Earlier on the same day, Nikhil Naik and Karthik, two other accused in the case, were granted bail by a sessions court.
The murder case of Renukaswamy attracted widespread attention due to Darshan’s alleged involvement. Police investigations revealed that Darshan, along with Pavithra Gowda and 15 others, were accused of orchestrating the murder.
The incident reportedly stemmed from obscene messages sent by a fan of the actor to Pavithra Gowda, which allegedly enraged Darshan. According to the police, Renukaswamy was lured to a farmhouse under the guise of meeting the actor. It was there that he was tortured and murdered, with Darshan allegedly playing a key role in the crime.The Kamakshipalya police, who are leading the investigation, filed a comprehensive 3,991-page charge sheet against Darshan and the other accused earlier this month. Darshan, Pavithra, and others have been in custody since June. Following over 100 days of imprisonment, Darshan’s legal team submitted a fresh bail application to the court on September 4, but the case has seen several adjournments since.
The case gained further notoriety in August when Darshan was transferred from Bengaluru’s Parappana Agrahara Central Jail to Ballari Prison. The transfer came after a video, purportedly showing the actor smoking within jail premises, went viral on social media, raising concerns about his behaviour while in custody.
