Darshan's police custody extended till June 20

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: A court here on Saturday extended the police custody of Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa along with his friend Pavithra Gowda and eleven others, who are accused in connection with the Renukaswamy murder case, by five more days.

They were produced before the court as their sixday police custody will end on Sunday. As the court would be shut on Sundays and Monday (Bakrid) -- a public holiday, the police decided to produce them before Judge Vishwanath C Goudar.

With this, Darshan, Gowda and others will continue to be in police custody till June 20. The advocates of Darshan and others requested the court to send them to judicial custody.

However, the investigation team requested the court that crucial evidence and equipment used to torture the deceased needs to be recovered and hence extend the police custody.

After hearing both sides, the 21st Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) court granted police custody.

Darshan, popularly known as "Challenging Star" and 12 of his close associates were arrested on Tuesday for the murder of 33-yearold Renukaswamy, a fan of the actor.

Renukaswamy, a resident of Chitradurga, allegedly commented on the social media account of Gowda, a small-time actress, accusing her of creating a rift between the actor and his wife.