Pavithra Gowda Sent To Parappana Agrahara Jail While Darshan's Police Custody Extended By 2 Days

Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa, Pavithra Gowda, and other accused in the Renuka Swamy murder case appeared before the Bengaluru trial court today (June 20). The judge extended the police custody of Darshan and other six accused for two more days, while Pavithra Gowda and eight other accused were sent to judicial custody. With this, Pavithra Gowda, one of the accused, will be sent to Central Jail in Parappana Agrahara, Bengaluru today.

Pavithra Gowda, one of the accused, was sent to judicial custody as ordered. Darshan, along with other accused numbers 9, Dhanaraj, 10, Vinay, 14, Pradosh, were handed back to police custody. The police have instructed lawyers representing some of the accused to submit them back to the Annapurneshwari Nagar police station. As a result, these six accused have been handed over to police custody for two days.

Along with Pavitra, other accused in the case, including 3, Pavan, 4, Raghavendra, 5, Nandish, 6, Jagadish, 7, Anukumar, 11, Nagaraj, 12, Lakshman, 13, Deepak, and 16, Keshavamurthy have also been sent to judicial custody.

Meanwhile, the lawyer representing Kannada superstar Darshan, who was arrested, said that the bail petition seeking his release would be filed in court after he is placed in judicial custody.

Speaking to reporters after meeting Darshan at the police station in Bengaluru, senior advocate Anil Babu said that Darshan would be presented before the court later in the afternoon. "It is unclear whether the prosecution will request an extension of police custody. We have to wait until the application is submitted to the court," he added.

"Most likely, there will be no need for police custody as the investigation is complete. We have to wait and see what happens. If Darshan is sent to judicial custody today, we will take some time, and within a week, we will file the bail petition in court," he stated. "We are not filing the bail petition today. Our team will discuss and then decide," he added.

On June 11, Darshan and co-star Pavithra Gowda, and 15 others have been arrested for the murder of Renukaswamy (33), a resident of Chitradurga. Two of the accused have been placed in judicial custody. For the unversed, Judicial custody is the detention of the accused under the jurisdiction of a magistrate or court. During judicial custody, the accused is usually held in a jail or prison facility as per the court's orders.

According to the investigation, Renukaswamy was a big fan of Darshan and had sent lewd messages to Pavithra Gowda on Instagram. He was allegedly kidnapped, brought to Bengaluru, confined in a shed, and brutally tortured to death. The police later arrested three others - Anu Kumar, Jagadeesh and Ravi - in the murder case.