Bengaluru Police to challenge bail granted to actor Darshan in Supreme Court

Bengaluru Police have announced plans to challenge the bail granted to Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa and others accused in the Renukaswamy murder case. Police Commissioner B Dayananda confirmed on Tuesday that a proposal will be submitted to the Karnataka government to appeal the bail in the Supreme Court.

The Karnataka High Court had granted conditional bail last Friday to Darshan, the second accused in the case, along with Pavithra Gowda (accused number one) and five others, including R Nagaraju, Anu Kumar, Lakshman M, Jagadeesh, and Pradoosh S Rao.

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Darshan was initially arrested on June 11 and had been out on interim bail for medical reasons, undergoing spine surgery after being released from Ballari jail on October 30. Co-accused Pavithra Gowda was released on bail from Parappana Agrahara prison on Tuesday after completing formalities.

The case centers on the murder of 33-year-old Renukaswamy, a fan of the actor, whose body was discovered near a stormwater drain in Bengaluru on June 9. Police allege the murder was sparked by Renukaswamy sending obscene messages to Pavithra Gowda, prompting Darshan and his associates to lure him to a shed where he was tortured and killed.

The post-mortem revealed Renukaswamy died from shock and hemorrhage caused by multiple blunt injuries. Police claim Pavithra was the primary instigator of the crime, accusing her of conspiring and participating in the murder.