Darshan called many people after Renukaswamy murder to arrange cash: Cops

According to the earlier remand notes, Darshan allegedly paid Rs 5 lakh each to at least four aides to surrender before the police and admit to the crime.

Bengaluru Police have retrieved a taser that was allegedly used to assault Renukaswamy, a 33-year-old pharmacy employee who was murdered earlier this month, allegedly by Kannada film actor Darshan Thoogudeepa and his aides.

According to the remand note furnished before the 24th Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Bengaluru Thursday, accused Dhanraj gave a “voluntary statement” that he was in possession of the taser.

“A-9 (Dhanraj) isn’t disclosing where he purchased the electric shock torch and is trying to hide details...we have to probe him further on this,” the police’s remand note read.

According to the autopsy report, a portion of which is mentioned in the 16 June filing, Renukaswamy died due to shock and haemorrhage as a result of multiple blunt injuries.

Darshan and three others will be in police custody till Saturday, while the remaining 13 accused in the case — including Darshan’s partner and co-star Pavithra Gowda — were sent to judicial custody Thursday.

Darshan, Gowda, and 15 others have been booked on charges of murdering Renukaswamy on the night of 8 June near Rajarajeshwari Nagar. The pharmacy employee had allegedly sent lewd messages to Gowda on a social media platform.

Renukaswamy’s body was found the next day near Sumanahalli bridge, about 10 kilometers away from the scene of the crime. On 10 June, three men had walked into the Kamakshipalya police station and admitted to the murder. Darshan’s name cropped up while they were being questioned.

Darshan called several people after murder

Darshan spent time talking to “several individuals” on the phone after the murder, according to the latest remand note.

Police sources said, adding that these calls were made to arrange cash to pay the “fall guys” as well as other influential individuals to help keep his name out of the case.

Cash worth Rs 37.4 lakh was recovered from Darshan’s home on 19 June.

According to the earlier remand notes, Darshan allegedly paid Rs 5 lakh each to at least four aides to surrender before the police and admit to the crime.

The notes further stated that Darshan had “misused” the law by using his money and getting his fans and others involved in the crime, and then used the same lot to destroy evidence and used influence to not be named in the case.

“After the act, the accused hatched a conspiracy and with the intention to destroy evidence, allured people with criminal backgrounds with money to shift the body from the place of the crime to another is something that has been established during the course of the investigation,” one of the remand notes states.

Accused Darshan, Raghavendra, Kartick, and Keshavamurthy have been booked in previous cases.

The police further said that if they are given bail, the accused may use their influence to destroy evidence, intimidate witnesses, and impede the investigation.

On 15 June, during a search carried out in Chitradurga, investigators found Rs 4,40,500 in cash, a gold chain, and a ring of the victim at the residence of accused Raghavendra, who is district president of the Chitradurga chapter of the Darshan Fans Association.