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Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa, known as the ‘Challenge Star’, his co-star Pavithra Gowda and 11 others have been arrested in a murder case that unfolded in a movie-like style.
The two actors and 11 others (Pavan, Vinay, Pradosh, Nandeesha, Deepak, Lakshman, Nagaraju, Karthik, Nikhil, Keshav Murthy and Raghavendra) were sentenced to seven days’ custody by a city court.
Renukaswamy, an avid fan of Darshan, is said to have sent a series of obscene and defamatory text messages to Pavitra, in which he accused Pavitra of being responsible for Darshan’s separation from his wife Vijayalakshmi and asked her to stay away from him or face the consequences, police sources said.
Renuka Swamy was found murdered and his body dumped in a drain in Kamakhipaliya, Bengaluru on June 8. Police said the deceased was abducted from Chitradurga, held in a farmhouse in Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Bengaluru, tortured and died of his injuries around 11 pm. He used to work in a pharmacy in Chitradurga.
On June 9, a security guard of a nearby apartment found an unidentified body being eaten by a dog and reported the case to the Kamaskipaliya police. Police sources told News18 that the deceased was later identified as Renikaswamy.
Another twist in the case came when Raghu Darshan alias Raghvendra, the district president of the Darshan Fans Association, was arrested along with two others in the case. During questioning, he started spilling the beans and the story slowly started unravelling.
The police used CCTV cameras and forensic analysis to trace the body and found three men who were suspected of holding Renukaswamy captive in the shed. One of them belonged to the Darshan Fans Association, through a member of which Renukaswamy was found.
“After finding the body of a 30-year-old man with injuries on his body, police determined it was a case of murder. We analysed data from CCTV footage and other technical evidence, which helped us identify the deceased as Renukaswamy,” Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda confirmed at a press conference.
Explaining how the incident unfolded, a police officer said one of the suspects, Raghavendra, went to Chitradurga, forcibly took the victim from there and locked him up in a godown or shed at Pattanwaddagere in RR Nagar. They beat the victim continuously for over an hour and the victim died of his injuries around 11 pm. CCTV footage and technical analysis revealed that Darshan and Pavitra were present at the crime scene. It was further revealed that Darshan’s mobile number was found in the mobile network area at the crime scene between 11 pm and 3 am.
It is said that Darshan then left the place.
“After that, the suspect dumped the body near Kamakhipaliya and after finding the body, we (police) registered a case,” the senior police officer said.
The police arrested the Kannada film star after finding clues and video footage of the spot where Darshan and Pavithra were brutally attacked by Renukaswamy. The police found that first, a black Scorpio left the spot carrying the victim’s body, followed by a red Thar belonging to the actor, as seen in CCTV footage obtained from cameras in a nearby residential area. This put their presence at the crime scene and showed that they entered around 11 pm and left around 3.30 am. The time when the vehicles approached the godown and left was on the night of June 8 and 9.
Using new-age digital mapping and identification technology, the Bengaluru police were able to identify Renukaswamy’s body and recovered his mobile phone, which they used to check his call record records (CDRs) and social media accounts. Investigation of the victim’s social media accounts also revealed that he had sent several obscene messages to Pavithra Gowda and received a series of calls from the arrested suspects, three of whom were allegedly Darshan’s personal security guards.
Darshan was arrested on Tuesday morning as he left a gym in Mysuru, while Pavitra was detained in Bengaluru later in the day after being linked to the case.
As per the timeline of events, Pavitra, also a Kannada actor, had been ignoring obscene text messages from Swami, who was unhappy with her relationship with Darshan. However, it is learnt that for the past few months, the deceased not only continued to send obscene text messages but also threatened her. This was noticed by Darshan and his team. The police are yet to establish a direct link between the murder and the Kannada actor. He has been arrested based on the statements of ten other accused arrested in the murder case.
After confirming the arrest of Darshan and Pavitra, the Bengaluru police has launched a full investigation into the murder and the case of others who allegedly abducted the victim from Chitradurga to Bengaluru and dumped her body in Bengaluru.
Darshan, who goes by one name, is the son of veteran actor Srinivas Thoogudeepa and his brother Dinakar is a director. He started his film career as a lighting technician in the Kannada film industry and later became an assistant to veteran cinematographer BC Gowrishankar. He initially worked in small-budget films and television shows, but his first major role as a lead actor was in the 2001 film Majestic. Hits like Kariya (2003), Namma Preethiya Ramu (2003), Kalasipalya (2005), Gaja (2008) and Saarathi (2011) made him a popular star with a huge fan following. He has also dubbed for many Kannada cartoon shows that are popular among children.
This is not the first time Darshan has courted controversy as he has had several run-ins with the law over the years.
January 2024: Darshan was accused of throwing a party at Jetlag Restobar in Bengaluru after 1am to celebrate the success of his film Kaatera. Police had filed an FIR in April against Darshan, actor Abhishek Ambareesh, producer-director Rockline Venkatesh and Dhananjaya for allegedly continuing the party after the deadline, playing loud music. Police have issued notices to all those involved in the case.
November 2023: Darshan was accused of letting the dogs bite a woman parked near his residence. A case was registered against him under Section 289 of the Indian Penal Code for negligence. Police later said Darshan was not present at the time of the incident, but the woman claimed that the dogs were the actor’s.
January 2023: The forest department raided Darshan’s farmhouse in Mysuru and seized four bar-headed geese and other migratory birds. He has been charged under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 for illegal possession of birds, which fall under Schedule 2 of the Wildlife Protection Act.
December 2022: Darshan made a controversial statement during an interview for the film Kranti: “Lady luck doesn’t always knock on your door. So when she does come, grab her, drag her, lock her in your bedroom and don’t give her clothes.” The statement triggered a strong backlash, including a fan throwing a slipper at him at an event in Hospet.
July 2021: Darshan was accused of assaulting a waiter at a Mysore hotel. The waiter allegedly took Rs 50,000 to cover up the case, so no charges were filed. In the same year, Kannada film producer Bharat filed a case against Darshan, saying that he had been threatening him.
March 2016: Vijayalakshmi filed a police complaint, alleging Darshan had beaten her again and threatened to shoot her. Doctors found bruises on her body and a wound on her head that required four stitches. Darshan claimed he was drunk at the time and had no memory of the incident when speaking to police.
September 2011: Vijayalakshmi first complained that Darshan had beaten her. Their relationship became turbulent and they separated several times due to alleged domestic abuse and violence, although they did not formally divorce. Vijayalakshmi filed a case in the family court, but the two settled out of court.
Recent controversies: Pavitra publicly confirmed that she was in a relationship with Darshan for more than a decade, despite the fact that Darshan and Vijayalakshmi were already married. Pavitra posted a photo of her good times with Darshan on Instagram with the caption, “Ten years gone, forever. We have been together for 10 years. Thank you”, which made Vijayalakshmi very angry and she threatened to take legal action against her. Pavitra responded in a post where she showed a ‘diya’ expressing her love and care for Darshan for the past ten years and mentioned the abuse she and her daughter had suffered. Darshan has not spoken out on the matter yet.
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