Actor Darshan. file. , Photo Credit: Handout E-mail

Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa, who is an accused in the Renukaswamy murder case, argued before the Karnataka High Court that the deceased was a “danger to society”.

Senior advocate CV Nagesh, representing Mr Darshan, made this statement on Tuesday (November 26, 2024) during the hearing on the jailed actor’s bail plea.

According to Mr. Nagesh, Renukaswamy had a history of sharing indecent photographs of women and had no regard for social norms or respect for women. Mr. Nagesh said that his behavior is condemnable.

Mr Nagesh said, “A man with no respect for women, a lawless man, has now been portrayed as a national hero, while my client, who is a hero in reel life, has been vilified as a villain. is being done.”

The lawyer also highlighted alleged procedural lapses in the investigation, including delays in the investigation and postmortem examination of the body, which was discovered by a security guard on June 9.

Furthermore, Mr. Nagesh refuted claims that Renukaswamy was kidnapped on the orders of Mr. Darshan, claiming that the victim had willingly traveled from Chitradurga to Bengaluru.

Justice S Vishwajit Shetty is set to hear further arguments on Mr Darshan’s regular bail plea on November 28.

According to the police, 33-year-old Renukaswamy, a fan of the actor, had sent obscene messages to his friend Pavitra Gowda, which enraged Mr. Darshan and he was allegedly murdered. His body was found near a storm drain next to an apartment in Sumanahalli on June 9.

One of the accused, Raghavendra, who is part of Sri Darshan’s fan club in Chitradurga, had brought Renukaswamy to a shed in RR Nagar here on the pretext that the actor wanted to meet him. It was in this shed that he was allegedly tortured and murdered.

According to the post-mortem report, Renukaswamy, a native of Chitradurga, died due to shock and haemorrhage as a result of multiple blunt injuries.

The police have said that Pavitra, who is accused number one, was the “prime reason” for Renukaswamy’s murder, claiming that the investigation has proved that she instigated the other accused, conspired with them and participated in the crime.

Mr Darshan was arrested on June 11. His friend Pavitra Gowda and 15 others are co-accused in the case.

The 47-year-old actor is currently out on interim bail. After being in jail for more than four months, he walked out of Ballari jail on October 30, hours after the Karnataka High Court granted him six weeks’ relief on medical grounds to undergo spinal surgery.

Pavitra is lodged in Bengaluru jail, and others in various jails in the state; Some of them were recently granted bail.