Kannada film star Darshan Thoogudeepa on Thursday moved the Karnataka high court with a fresh bail plea after his previous petition was rejected by a Bengaluru sessions court on October 14. Darshan, along with actress Pavithra Gowda, have been booked under charges related to the kidnapping and murder of 33-year-old Renukaswamy.
“Darshan’s latest plea includes a request for an expedited hearing. His earlier bail application, submitted three weeks ago, was dismissed by the 57th CCH Court, which also denied Gowda’s plea in the same hearing,” said an official in the know of the development.
Out of the six accused in this case, only two — Ravi Shankar and Deepak Kumar — were granted bail. The court had rejected the petitions of Darshan, Gowda, Nagaraj, and Lakshman.
Darshan and Gowda, in custody since June 11, were initially detained at Bengaluru Central Prison. However, Darshan was later transferred to Ballari after photographs surfaced on social media showing him smoking and drinking coffee inside the prison. Meanwhile, Gowda remains incarcerated at Bengaluru Central Prison.
The murder case revolves around the alleged abduction of Renukaswamy, a resident of Chitradurga. According to authorities, he was detained and tortured in a shed at Pattanagere, where he endured severe physical abuse before his body was found dumped in a drain at Sumanahalli.
On September 4, the investigative team submitted a 3,991-page charge sheet to the 24th additional chief metropolitan magistrate’s court. The document provides detailed descriptions of the assault, indicating that Renukaswamy was subjected to electric shocks and died due to shock and haemorrhage. Investigators also disclosed that Renukaswamy had used a fake Instagram profile under the alias “Gowtham” to engage with Pavithra Gowda, allegedly triggering the violent events.
The prosecution alleged that Darshan and his associates targeted Renukaswamy in response to derogatory messages he sent to Gowda, who has been in a long-term relationship with Darshan. The actors, along with 15 others, were taken into custody on June 11. So far, three of the 17 accused have been granted bail.