Kathmandu: Darshan Thoogudeepa, a superstar of the Kannada-language film industry in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, has been under arrest for the past 10 days in connection with a crime that resembles the plot of a movie. He is among 17 people picked up by the police for the murder of Renukaswamy – a 33-year-old fan of the actor – after his body was recovered from a drain.
Earlier this week, Bengaluru city Police Commissioner B Dayananda said Renukaswamy was “killed in a very brutal and barbaric way” and described it as a “heinous crime committed in a horrific manner ”.
Police said they believe the 47-year-old actor was angry with Renukaswamy, who worked for a pharmacy company, because he had allegedly sent lewd messages on social media to Pavithra Gowda, an actress who has been described in the Indian press as Darshan’s girlfriend. She is among those arrested.
The charges against the suspects include “murder, kidnapping, destruction of evidence and criminal conspiracy”.
Darshan is in jail and has not commented on the allegations but his lawyer Ranganath Reddy told the BBC that during their meetings, the actor denied the charges against him.
Regarded as the most bankable star of the Kannada film industry, Darshan has starred in about 60 films and many of them have been huge hits. Kannada film producer Yogish Dwarakish says Darshan is “one actor who can guarantee you an extraordinary opening”.
Officially, police are not giving out any details of what – if any – evidence they have against the actor and the other suspects, but the local press have reported fantastical allegations, attributing them to police sources.
Blurry CCTV footage has been shown on TV channels, with reporters claiming that it shows Renukaswamy’s abduction.
Details from what’s being described as the deceased man’s post-mortem have been discussed threadbare and the press went into a frenzy after reports that the shoes Darshan wore on the night of the murder were found in his wife Vijayalakshmi’s house, forcing her to obtain a restraining order against the press.
Source: BBC