Karnataka govt, Mulling possibility of setting up fast track court to hear Renukaswamy murder case

Bengaluru: Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Tuesday indicated that the government is mulling the possibility of setting up a fast-track court to hear the Renukaswamy murder case, in which Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa and 16 others are accused.

The Bengaluru police last week filed a 3,991-page preliminary chargesheet in the case.

“It will be decided…..There is a thinking in this regard, so that the hearing in the case can be completed soon by the court and give its verdict,” Parameshwara told reporters in response to a question on setting up a fast track court.

“Having effectively gathered the evidence, a chargesheet  has been submitted; based on that it will be decided,” he added.

Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda said the police will discuss with legal experts and take a decision on the issue of constituting such a court.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka High Court issued an ex-parte interim order barring media outlets from broadcasting, printing, or publishing any information from the chargesheet against Darshan Thoogudeepa.

The restriction will remain in place until the next hearing. 

Justice Hemant Chandangoudar, presiding over a single-judge bench, passed the order following a plea by the 47-year-old actor, who requested the court to restrain media organisations from disseminating confidential details contained in the chargesheet and other materials gathered during the investigation.    

Darshan was arrested on June 11 in connection with the Renukaswamy murder case and has been in judicial custody since June 22. Currently he is lodged in Ballari prison.

Responding to a question on inquiry in connection with the “illegalities” at the Parappana Agrahara Central prison here, Dayananda said an investigation is on and three cases have been registered.

“Probe is being done by South East Division police. Also, an inquiry has been ordered by the state government regarding the loopholes in the jail and measures to be taken to plug them, which is being done by the Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Chandragupta,” he told reporters.

With court permission, Darshan was recently shifted to Ballari prison from the Parappana Agrahara Central jail here, after a photograph of him hanging out with three others, including a rowdy-sheeter, on the lawns of the jail had gone viral, sparking an uproar.

In the picture, the actor is seen in a relaxed mood, sitting on a chair and holding a cigarette and a coffee mug. Also, a purported video of Darshan speaking to a person over a video call from the prison too had surfaced on social media.

The court had also permitted shifting of other co-accused in the murder case to various prisons in the state.

Nine prison officials, including the Chief Superintendent of the Parappana Agrahara jail, were suspended over their “lapses” after a preliminary probe into “special treatment” to Darshan.

Also, three FIRs were registered, including against Darshan, under sections of the Prisons Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Replying to a question, Dayananda said a few more reports are yet to come from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory in connection with the Renukaswamy murder case. “But, as we had gathered major evidence required, the chargesheet in the case has been submitted to the court.”

According to police sources, 33-year-old Renukaswamy, a fan of the actor, had sent obscene messages to Pavithra Gowda (Darshan’s friend and co-accused), 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 nine.

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 post-mortem 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, conspired with them, and took part in the crime.