Bangalore. Popular Kannada film actor Darshan Thoogudeep was arrested on Tuesday in connection with the murder of a man, police sources said. According to police, the actor killed a man who had allegedly made “derogatory” remarks against his close friend.
After taking Darshan and 12 others into custody today, the police interrogated them and later arrested them in connection with the alleged murder of a man named Renukaswamy. Renukaswamy’s body was recovered here on June 9. According to police sources, it is alleged that Renukaswamy, who works in a pharma company, had made some obscene comments against film actress Pavitra Gowda in a social media post. Pavitra Gowda is a close friend of Darshan. The police have also arrested Pavitra.
Darshan and 13 others have also been detained by the police and are being questioned in connection with the alleged murder of a man named Renukaswamy, whose body was found here on June 9. 47-year-old actor Darshan, who has acted in several successful films including ‘Kariya’, ‘Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna’, ‘Kalapsipalya’, ‘Gaj’, ‘Navagraha’, ‘Sarathi’, ‘Bulbul’, ‘Yajamana’, ‘Robert’ and ‘Katera’, was detained from a hotel in Mysore on June 9 when he was coming out after exercising in the gym.
Police sources said Renukaswamy was allegedly murdered in the shed of an associate of Darshan and his body was dumped in a drain in Kamakshipalya. The shed is in Pattanagere area under the limits of Kamakshipalya police station. Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayanand said, “A case of murder was registered based on the recovery of the body of an unidentified person and the injury marks on his body. Based on CCTV footage and other technical evidence, the deceased has been identified as Renukaswamy.”
Police sources said that the police came to know about the murder when some locals informed them about the body, which was later sent for post-mortem and the forensic report confirmed that he was murdered. Police sources said that in further investigation, 11 suspects were arrested and Darshan and Pavitra were taken into custody based on their statements. A police officer said, “We are trying to find out whether the actor was directly involved in the murder or was part of the conspiracy.” Renukaswamy’s parents are in mourning after hearing the news of his murder. His father Srinivasaiah told reporters at Kamakshipalya police station, “He was my only son. He got married last year. I spoke to him only on Saturday. I want justice for my son.” Police have tightened security at the house of actor Darshan, who entered the acting field as the lead actor in the film ‘Majestic’ in the year 2002.