In a shocking revelation in the Renukaswamy death case, accused Kannada superstar Darshan Thoogudeepa has, as per the remand note, confessed to paying Rs 30 lakh to co-accused Pradosh. Darsha paid this amount to Pradosh to ‘manage’ the police and lawyers and pay to those people surrendering before the police claiming to have murdered Darshan’s fan Renukaswamy.
It has been said that Darshan paid the money to accused Pradosh to dispose of the victim’s body and make sure the actor’s name does not come up in the case.
The Kannada actor referred to this in his voluntary statement, according to the remand copy. During their search, the police recovered cash from Pradosh’s home on JP Road in Girinagar.
“Darshan, who is accused number 2 (A2) in the case, has in his voluntary statement to police said that he had given Rs 30 lakh to Pradosh (A14) to dispose of the body, and for the expenditure that would cost…for persons to carry out this task, and to ensure that his name doesn’t come out anywhere”, the police said.
In the Renukaswamy murder case, a total of 17 persons have been arrested, including Kannada star Darshan and his girlfriend Pavithra Gowda.
Renukaswamy, a fan of actor Darshan had allegedly sent Pavithra Gowda lewd texts that infuriated Darshan and ultimately resulted in his murder, according to the police. On the 9th of June, his body was found near an apartment in Sumanahalli, close to a stormwater drain.
Pictures of the deceased victim’s body have surfaced online. Renukaswamy’s body shows marks of brutal assault with rods, and signs of electrocution.
The police have taken Darshan’s clothes and other evidence from his home in Bengaluru’s RR Nagar area. In an attempt to deflect attention from the media, police brought Darshan home late on Friday night after he initially claimed that the clothes he was wearing the night of the alleged murder were at his home. Although Darshan initially directed the police to a laundry basket, the clothes were not found.
The clothes had been cleaned and left out to dry on the terrace, investigators found after conducting further searches. Darshan told the police that he thought his domestic help might have washed his clothes in the laundry.
The clothes have been taken as evidence, along with shoes that were seized from the home of Darshan’s wife and CCTV footage from the premises.
As reported earlier, the deceased victim Renukaswamy’s autopsy report indicated that he was subjected to electric shocks before his death.
Renukaswamy, an autorickshaw driver and member of actor Darshan’s fan club, was allegedly kidnapped from Chitradurga district on June 8 after sending derogatory messages to Pavithra Gowda. His body was later discovered near Sumanahalli Bridge in Bengaluru.
Media reports, citing sources, say that one of the accused, Raghavendra, a member of Darshan’s fan club in Chitradurga, lured Renukaswamy to a shed in R R Nagar under the guise of Darshan wanting to meet him. It is said that Renukaswamy was tortured and murdered in this shed.
CCTV footage obtained by India Today TV captures the moments before Renukaswamy’s abduction. The suspects reportedly started following him in an autorickshaw at 9:30 AM as he left his home. The autorickshaw was seen on a surveillance camera at 9:41 AM passing a petrol pump, with an accomplice trailing on a white scooter.