Police claim Darshan is not cooperating with probe; police custody of actor and three other accused extended by two days

Police seek extended custody for Darshan and key accused in Renukaswamy murder case, alleging lack of cooperation and evidence hiding. Pavithra Gowda and other accused remanded in judicial custody; police recover ₹40.4 lakh Darshan had allegedly taken on loan for covering up the murder

Claiming that actor Darshan and three other key accused in the Renukaswamy murder case were not cooperating with the investigation and were hiding facts, the police sought and got their custody extended by two more days on Thursday.

The accused were produced before the 24th ACMM Court on Thursday as their police custody ended. The other accused, including Pavithra Gowda, were remanded in judicial custody and shifted to the Bengaluru Central Prison at Parappana Agrahara later in the day.

In the remand application made by the Kamakshipalya police on Thursday, they alleged that Darshan, V. Vinay, Pradosh, and Dhanraj were not cooperating with the probe and were hiding facts. In his first statement to the police, Darshan had reportedly confessed to having paid ₹30 lakh to Pradosh for the disposal of the body and to pay those who had surrendered. However, further probe revealed that Darshan had allegedly taken loan of ₹40 lakh from one Mohan Raj towards further expenses he would incur in covering up the murder. The police recovered ₹37.4 lakh from Darshan’s residence on Wednesday and the ₹3 lakh he had asked his makeup man to hand over to his wife Vijayalakshmi. Darshan had hid these facts, the police alleged.

The police said in the remand application that Darshan had called many people after the crime and further custodial interrogation was needed to ascertain why he made those calls and what was their role in the cover-up, if any. This becomes significant amid rumours that a Minister and two city MLAs tried to save him, reports that the Chief Minister has denied.

Meanwhile, the police have also said that there was crucial evidence in the phone of Vinay, the owner of Stonny Brook pub where Darshan was partying on June 8 before going to the shed and allegedly assaulting Renukaswamy. “We need to probe who sent that to him,” the police said in the remand application. This comes amid unconfirmed reports that the accused had recorded a video of an injured Renukaswamy in the shed. The police have refused to comment on this. 

Pradosh, who allegedly played a key role in the destruction of evidence, allegedly took another person to the crime scene, whose identity he is reportedly not revealing, the police have claimed. The police are tightlipped as to whether this indicates that there may have been another accused yet to be identified.

Meanwhile, the police have also claimed that several persons have been trying to bribe the employees of the shed, where Renukaswamy was allegedly tortured and killed, to desist them from giving evidence in the case. “The links between these persons and the accused needs to be probed,” the police told the court.