Kannada star Darshan Thoogudeepa is prisoner number 6106 in his fan Renukaswamy's murder, decoding the timeline of the shocking case

Leading Kannada film actor Darshan Thoogudeepa was taken into custody in a murder case, Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda said earlier this month. He said Darshan and his aides, who had been detained, were being questioned by police. “In connection with a murder, a Kannada film actor has been taken into custody and is being questioned,” Dayananda briefed reporters here.

What happened?

The 47-year-old was picked up in connection with the murder of a man, identified as Renuka Swamy, on June 9 in Kamakshipalya area of the city, he said. After the alleged killing, the body of Swamy, who worked with a pharmacy company and hailed from the district headquarters town of Chitradurga, was dumped into a stormwater drain in Kamakshipalya.

“Based on the recovery of the dead body of an unidentified man and the injuries on his body, a murder case was registered. On the basis of CCTV footage and other technical evidence, the deceased was identified as Renuka Swamy,” Dayananda said. “We have detained the Kannada film actor and his aides and are questioning him. Since the investigation is on I cannot share more details,” he said.

The murder

According to News18, a security guard in a nearby Bengaluru flat discovered an unidentified body being eaten by dogs on 9 June and reported it to the Kamaskhipalya police.

Renukaswamy was subsequently identified as the deceased. He used to work at the Apollo Pharmacy in Chitradurga, which is more than 200 kilometres away from the capital of Karnataka.

“On finding an unidentified body of a male aged around 30 years and the injuries on it, a murder case was registered. We have analysed data using CCTV footage and other technical evidence which helped us identify the deceased as Renukaswamy,” Bengaluru police commissioner B Dayananda confirmed in a media conference.

Darshan’s link to the case

Technical investigation and CCTV footage proved that Darshan and Pavithra were there at the crime scene on the intervening night of 8 and 9 June.

It was also disclosed that between 11 pm and 3.30 am, Darshan’s mobile number was discovered at the crime scene’s mobile network area.

Obscene messages and threats

Darshan was upset with Renukaswamy for sending Pavithra “abusive comments and messages” on Instagram.

According to News18 which cited a police source, Renukaswamy allegedly sent Pavithra a string of obscene and defamatory texts, blaming her for Darshan’s separation from his wife Vjayalakshmi. He also threatened to face consequences if she didn’t stop.

The incident timeline indicates that Pavithra had been ignoring Renukaswamy’s lewd texts. But it turns out that the deceased had been threatening her for a few months in addition to continuing to send obscene texts. Darshan and his team were made aware of this.

Darshan’s wife Vijaylakshmi Darshan finally reacted to murder allegations against her husband. She bashed the media for telecasting and publishing unauthenticated news on social media about the case.

Sharing a picture of the injunction order against the media on her social media account, she wrote, “At the outset, I express my heartfelt condolences to the family of the deceased Sri. Renukaswamy. Alongside, The last few days have been full of anguish for Darshan, myself, my teenage son & all of Darshan’s friends, family & Fans.”

The actor is now prisoner no. 6106.

With added inputs from agencies