Kannada actor Darshan paid co-accused in Renukaswamy murder case not to reveal his name: police

On Tuesday, Darshan was arrested along with his friend Pavithra Gowda and 11 others in connection with the murder of Renukaswamy, a resident of Chitradurga. He was killed on the intervening night between June 8 and June 9 because he had allegedly sent abusive messages to Gowda on Instagram about her relationship with the actor. All the 13 accused are in police custody now.

A police officer narrated how Raghavendra and his gang cooked up the story. “Raghavendra and others claimed that Renukaswamy had borrowed Rs 2.5 lakh from him and that he was asked to repay it. There was a heated argument over the loan and in a fit of rage, they hit Renukaswamy and he died. Later, the body was dumped in a drain near an apartment,” the officer said.

After the police found out about Darshan’s alleged involvement in the murder, the other accused opened up about his role and the money they had been offered. Deepak offered Rs 5 lakh each to Nikhil Naik, Raghavendra and Keshava Murthy to surrender to the police without revealing the actor’s name.

According to Raghavendra’s police statement, Nikhil and Murthy received Rs 5 lakh while his and Karthik’s families were about to get the money after they were jailed.

A police officer said that one of the accused said in his statement that Deepak at the behest of Darshan had assured that the actor would take care of their legal expenses as well.

The police had sought the custody of the accused stating that they needed to retrieve mobile phones to collect data, conduct a spot mahazar, seize materials used in the murder and to question them after getting their call detail records.

On Wednesday, Darshan and 12 other accused were taken to a shed in RR Nagar where Renukaswamy was assaulted and killed. The police also conducted a spot mahazar and collected evidence in the case.

A police officer said that Darshan and his gang were naive. “They thought police investigations would be just like what happens in the movies. They did not expect a lot of things,” he said.