Bengaluru city police file chargesheet against actor Darshan, Pavitra Gowda and 15 others in Renukaswamy murder case

Police sources said that apart from witnesses there is abundant material evidence to prove the presence of the accused with Renukaswamy on the fateful day. Renukaswamy’s DNA found on the clothes of some accused including Pavithra Gowda, confirmed by CFSL, Hyderabad, remains a vital piece of evidence.

Nearly three months after Renukaswamy, a salesman at a pharmacy chain in Chitradurga in Karnataka, was found dead in Bengaluru, police filed the chargesheet in the sensational case that has garnered continuous media coverage, on September 4. and Actor Darshan, his partner Pavitra Gowda and 15 others have been arrested for the murder.  

The seven-volume chargesheet of 3,991 pages includes eight reports from Forensic Science Laboratory in Madiwala and the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Hyderabad. The chargesheet includes three witness accounts, 97 independent witnesses of which 27 have recorded their statements in front of a magistrate under Section 164 of Criminal Procedure Code. Including mahazar witnesses and police officials, the chargesheet lists a total of 231 witnesses. 

The accused have been booked for murder, abduction, criminal conspiracy and destruction of evidence, among other charges.

Police sources said that apart from witnesses, there is abundant material evidence to prove the presence of the accused with Renukaswamy on the fateful day. Renukaswamy’s DNA was found on the clothes of some accused, including Pavitra Gowda, and was confirmed by CFSL, Hyderabad. This is a vital piece of evidence.

Analysis of Call Detail Records (CDR) and tower locations of the mobile phones of the accused not only fixes their presence at the scene of crime but also establishes criminal conspiracy, the chargesheet alleges.

Police have recovered photographs of the body of Renukaswamy from the phone of one of the accused. The photos were clicked at the parking shed, the scene of crime, after his death and sent to other prime accused in the case, the chargesheet alleges, sources said.

Police have recovered large sums of money Darshan used to cover up the case, the dress and shoes the actor was wearing during the crime.