Leading Kannada film actor Darshan Thoogudeepa’s actress girlfriend has reportedly confessed to attacking the murder victim Renukaswamy. Darshan and Pavithra Gowda are accused of abducting and killing a devoted fan of the actor Renukaswamy earlier in June.
The pair were arrested alongside multiple other perpetrators who were reportedly involved in the horrific murder. For the unversed, Renukaswamy, a Chitardurga man and a fan of Darshan, was allegedly abducted and brought to Bengaluru earlier this month.
Per The News Minute, the victim was reportedly held in a shed and brutally tortured to death by Darshan and his 15 accomplices, who fled the scene after the crime. The body was discovered by a security guard, Keval Ram Dorji, at Anugraha Apartment. He found the victim by the drain near the apartment complex in Kamakshipalya.
While the motive for the crime is unclear, multiple reports, including the Times of India, suggested the victim sent obscene messages to Darshn’s alleged girlfriend, Pavithra Gowda.
Evidence against the suspects
Darshan was tapped as a suspect after CCTV footage showed his car near the shed on the night of the murder. Darshan was detained from his farmhouse in Mysuru on Tuesday, June 11 and brought to Bengaluru for questioning.
According to TOI, police also recovered Drashan’s alleged girlfriend’s footwear linking her to the crime and found clothes she wore on the day of the murder during a search at her three-story building. The pair, alongside 14 others, allegedly plotted the kidnap and murder of the victim.
Pavithra Gowda allegedly confessed to attacking the victim
Times of India reported police had obtained a confession from Pavithra Gowda, allegedly saying she was first to attack the victim with her footwear.
According to TOI, police said, “As per the confession of the accused persons, Pavithra was the first one to assault Renukaswamy with her footwear before others subjected him to brutality at a seized-vehicle parking yard in Pattanagere, Rajarajeshwari Nagar, where he was held captive on June 8.”
The names of the accomplices are Pavan, Vinay, Pradosh, Nandeesha, Deepak, Lakshman, Nagaraju, Karthik, Nikhil, Keshavmurthy, Raghavendra, Anu Kumar, Jagadish and Ravi.
According to the police, taxi driver Ravi Shankar’s car was allegedly used in the kidnapping. Law enforcement also seized evidence from Vinay, Deepak, Arun and Raghavendra’s house.
