Darshan fan murder: SIT formed, police may ask Insta for chat details

Over the last three days, police have been scouring a drain near an apartment in Summanahalli for Renukaswamy’s phone, which a senior police officer told The India Express will be crucial evidence in the case. “While Pavithra Gowda’s phone has been recovered which contains the messages, it is important to recover the data from Renukaswamy’s phone, which will help prove the motive behind the murder,” the officer said. A resident of Chitradurga, the body of the 33-year-old man was also recovered from the same drain on June 9. On June 11, Darshan, Pavithra Gowda and 11 others were arrested. The police later arrested 3 others and on Monday, Raju alias Dhanaraj was arrested. All of them are in police custody until 20 June.

“We will be required to get data from Instagram officially,” the officer said, adding that the accused had recorded a video on that phone of Renukaswamy apologising for allegedly sending lewd and abusive messages to Pavithra Gowda. On the day Renukaswamy was killed, investigation revealed that Darshan and his associates, excluding Pavithra Gowda, had partied at a bar in RR Nagar.