Kannada actor Darshan and his friend Pavitra Gowda have been formally charged in connection with the murder of his fan, Renukaswamy. The Bengaluru Sessions Court has filed charges against 17 accused in total.
The court began the hearing by reading out the charges against the first accused, Pavitra Gowda. According to the charges, Renukaswamy had allegedly sent obscene messages to Pavitra. In retaliation, he was kidnapped, taken to a shed in Bengaluru, and brutally assaulted.
The court noted that Pavitra hit Renukaswamy with a slipper, while Darshan allegedly removed his pants and assaulted his private parts, leading to his death. The judge also mentioned that some of the accused were allegedly paid money to take the blame for the murder.
All 17 accused refused to plead guilty, and the court began the signing procedure to confirm the framing of charges. The courtroom was overcrowded during the hearing, prompting the judge to instruct lawyers not connected to the case to leave.
The judge also warned that if such disruption continued, the proceedings would be postponed. After hearing arguments from both sides, the court adjourned the case to November 10. Darshan, Pavitra, and the other accused were then taken back to jail.
Darshan has been married to Vijayalakshmi for nearly twenty years but has reportedly been living with Pavitra Gowda for the past few years. Police investigations revealed that Renukaswamy was upset about their relationship, believing it was unfair to Vijayalakshmi. Out of anger, he allegedly sent vulgar messages to Pavitra and posted warnings on Instagram. This behavior reportedly provoked the assault that led to his murder.
The incident caused a major uproar across Karnataka. The post-mortem confirmed that Renukaswamy had been tortured and even subjected to electric shocks. Earlier, the Karnataka High Court granted Darshan interim bail in October last year and regular bail in December. However, the state government challenged this in the Supreme Court, which later cancelled his bail, overruling the High Court’s decision.
