Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa, recently arrested in connection with a murder case, is accused of attempting to bribe three men to take the blame for the crime. According to the police, Darshan offered each of the men five lakh rupees to confess to the murder. The victim, 33-year-old Renuka Swamy, was discovered in a drain near the Sumanahalli Bridge in Bengaluru after a food delivery agent reported seeing dogs scavenging on the body.
Investigations suggest that Renuka Swamy had sent offensive texts to Darshan’s co-star and girlfriend, Pavithra Gowda. The police are exploring whether this online harassment and the use of inappropriate language could have motivated the murder.
Darshan Thoogudeepa allegedly hired Raghavendra, also known as Raghu, who is the convenor of his fan club in Chitradurga, to gather information on Renuka Swamy. The victim’s wife claims that Raghu picked up Renuka Swamy from near their home before the murder.
According to the police, Renuka Swamy was brutally assaulted before being murdered. He was tied with ropes and beaten savagely with wooden sticks in a shed. A total of thirteen people, including Darshan and his co-star Pavithra Gowda, have been arrested in connection with the case.
Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda has promised a thorough investigation, vowing to uncover the truth and ensure that those responsible are punished according to the law. The state’s Home Minister, G Parameshwara, has affirmed that the police have been given full authority to take necessary legal action against Darshan and the other accused.
The incident has sent shockwaves through the Kannada film industry, prompting the state’s top industry body to demand a ban on the release of Darshan’s movies.
Darshan, popularly known as the Challenging Star, has acted in several commercially successful and critically acclaimed films, including Kariya (2003), Namma Preethiya Ramu (2003), Tarak (2017), Yajamana (2019), and Kurukshetra (2019).
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