Fan murder case: Court adjourns hearing on Darshan’s bail plea to Oct 5

Bengaluru: A court here on Friday adjourned the hearing into the bail plea of Kannada superstar Darshan — jailed in connection with the sensational fan murder case — to October 5 (Saturday), an official said.

The court also adjourned the bail petition of Darshan’s partner Pavithra Gowda to Saturday.

The court is expected to take up the matter at around 12.30 p.m.

Senior counsel C.V. Nagesh, appearing for Darshan, submitted to the court that the evidence gathered against Darshan was planted by the police.

 He also stated that the charges made against Darshan are similar to the story of ‘Arabian Nights’.

The circumstantial evidence, and other evidence were planted by the police who investigated the fan murder case, Nagesh submitted to the court.

“The media has already described Darshan as guilty. The media has also conducted a trial from the stage of FIR against him at every phase.

The media has also given judgment in the case saying that Darshan should be given either a life sentence or capital punishment,” Nagesh told the court.

Nagesh, however, further submitted that he has faith in the judiciary.

“The judgement won’t be given based on the media trial. Most of the injury marks on the body of deceased Renukaswamy are because of dogs (bites) and they are portrayed as injuries inflicted by Darshan.

 The Special Public Prosecutor praising the investigation, has called it a classic investigation. I call it a classic failure on part of the police,” he said.

The counsel argued that the process of recovery and gathering of evidence did not adhere to the Supreme Court guidelines and submitted two orders of the Apex Court to the judge.

Special Public Prosecutor Prasanna Kumar, meanwhile, said that he should get a copy of the documents submitted to the court.

“Darshan was in possession of Rs 37 lakh on May 2 and he did not get the money to destroy the evidence. He could not foresee the incident.

 The police have recovered clothes and maintain that they have blood stains. How can the clothes which are washed properly have blood stains?” Nagesh further argued.

“The police claim that the materials were seized after the statement of Darshan on June 12.

They claim that one broken police lathi, a tree branch, a water bottle, and nylon rope were recovered from the spot.

 However, the police were present at the shed on June 9. What were the police doing for three days after the seizure of these materials?” Nagesh questioned.

Earlier, the court on September 30 adjourned the hearing on the bail petition to October 4 after his counsel sought more time to place his arguments.

The bail petition, filed after the submission of the charge sheet, has stated that the actor is innocent and has been “fixed” in the case.

“Barring the major injury on the head, no major injuries were found on the body of Renukaswamy. There is no clarity on his exact time of death.

There are contradictions between the statements before the court and the medical reports. There is no evidence to prove that Darshan has committed the crime of murder.

The authorities have created evidence against Darshan in the case,” the bail petition mentioned

Darshan had admitted to assaulting Renukaswamy, who had allegedly sent obscene messages to his partner Pavithra Gowda, but claimed that he was informed about the victim’s death later, according to his 20-page statement mentioned in the charge sheet filed by the police.

The 3,991-page charge sheet, submitted to the 24th Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s (ACMM) court on September 4, has provided graphic details on how Darshan attacked Renukaswamy who was allegedly kidnapped and kept in captivity by the actor’s associates, leading to his death.

The charge sheet also claimed that Renukaswamy chatted with Pavithra Gowda by creating a fake ID on Instagram under the name of Gowtham.

On June 9, Renukaswamy was abducted from Chitradurga and brought to Bengaluru, where he was confined in a shed at Pattanagere and brutally assaulted.

Renukaswamy was murdered, and his body was dumped in a drain at Sumanahalli. In connection with this case, 17 people, including Darshan and his partner Pavithra Gowda, were arrested on June 11.

Among 17, the court has granted bail to three of the accused following which they have been released from the prison.