Courts grant bail to three accused in Renukaswamy murder case

NT Correspondent Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Monday granted bail to Keshavamurthy, one of the accused in the Renukaswamy murder case. The High Court bench of Justice Vishwajit Shetty granted bail. Meanwhile, the Sessions Court here today granted bail to two others accused in the case, Nikhil Naik and Karthik. All the 17 accused in the murder case, including Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa along with his friend Pavithra Gowda, are currently in judicial custody, and are lodged in various prisons across the state.

Police on September 4 had submitted to the court a 3,991-page preliminary charge sheet to the court in the case. Karthik (accused number - A 15), Keshavamurthy (A 16) and Nikhil Naik (A 17) are lodged in Tumakuru prison. According to police sources, 33-year-old Renukaswamy, a fan of the actor, had sent obscene messages to Pavithra, which enraged Darshan, allegedly leading to his murder. His body was found near a stormwater drain next to an apartment in Sumanahalli here on June 9. Raghavendra, one of the accused who is part of Darshan's fan club in Chitradurga, had brought Renukaswamy to a shed in R R 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 postmortem report, Renukaswamy, a native of Chitradurga, died due to shock and haemorrhage as a result of multiple blunt injuries. Police sources said Pavithra, who is accused number one, was the "major cause" for Renukaswamy's murder, claiming that it has been proved from the probe that she instigated other accused.