Karnataka HC Grants Bail to Actors Darshan, Pavithra Gowda, and Five Others in Murder Case

The Karnataka High Court on Friday, December 13, 2024, granted regular bail to seven individuals, including actors Darshan and Pavithra Gowda, in connection with the Renukaswamy kidnap, torture, and murder case. The order was issued by Justice S. Vishwajith Shetty while considering separate petitions filed by the accused: Darshan, Pavithra Gowda, Nagaraju R, Anu Kumar (alias Anu), Lakshman M, Jagadeesh (alias Jagga), and Pradoosh S. Rao.

These seven were among the 15 individuals named in the chargesheet for the case. The trial court had previously denied them bail, prompting their appeal to the High Court. Notably, Darshan had earlier been granted interim bail on October 30 to undergo surgery for a back condition.

The case pertains to the murder of Renukaswamy, an employee of a medical shop in Chitradurga. He was allegedly abducted and killed on June 8 at a shed in Pattanagere, R.R. Nagar, Bengaluru. The gruesome act came to light on June 9 when a security guard discovered a body near a stormwater drain. According to the chargesheet, the victim was kidnapped, subjected to torture, and later murdered before his body was disposed of near the drain.

Prosecutors allege that the victim had sent inappropriate messages and photos to Pavithra Gowda, described in the chargesheet as Darshan’s live-in partner. Instead of filing a complaint against him, Pavithra, along with the other accused, reportedly took the law into their own hands by abducting Renukaswamy from Chitradurga and holding him at the shed in Bengaluru.

Further, it was claimed that Darshan attempted to cover up the crime by hiring individuals to falsely confess to the murder in exchange for money. Despite these efforts, the police uncovered the alleged plot during their investigation.