Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru

Bengaluru, July 29: The Bengaluru Police have filed an FIR against 43 social media accounts after actor and former MP Ramya (Divya Spandana) received vulgar, abusive, and threatening messages, allegedly from self-proclaimed fans of actor Darshan Thoogudeepa.

The case has now been transferred to the Central Crime Branch (CCB) for further investigation on the orders of City Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh.

The abuse followed a post by Ramya on her ‘X’ account regarding the Renukaswamy murder case, in which Darshan is one of the main accused.

After the Supreme Court reserved its order last week on a petition to cancel the bail granted to Darshan and six others by the Karnataka High Court, Ramya had posted, “The Supreme Court is a ray of hope for the common people of India—justice for the family of Renukaswamy.”

Shortly after, she began receiving sexually explicit, misogynistic and threatening messages via Instagram, allegedly from Darshan fans. Ramya took screenshots of the messages and submitted them to the police as evidence.

In her four-page complaint filed on Monday, Ramya named several users and urged authorities to take action. Commissioner Singh directed the Cyber Crime police station to register a case, which has now been handed over to the CCB.

Among those named in the FIR are users with handles including Pramod Gowda, D Boss Ganga, Akash, Donnuru Nagaraj, Raju, Appu Badiger, Devil Lover, Harishanna, Hemanth, Sujan, Chinmay, and Vinu—totalling 43 accounts.

The FIR has been filed under relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including:

• Section 351(2) – Criminal intimidation,

• Section 351(3) – Threat with intent to cause death or serious harm,

• Section 352 – Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace,

• Section 75(1) – Sexual harassment,

• Section 75(1)(IV) – Sexually coloured remarks,

• Section 79 – Outraging the modesty of a woman.

An ACP-rank officer has been appointed to head the investigation under the supervision of the joint commissioner of police. Authorities are actively tracing the accused Instagram accounts, the police commissioner confirmed.

On Tuesday, CCB officers met Ramya to gather additional details related to the case. Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara has also responded, assuring strong action. “The police will take this seriously. Today it's Ramya; tomorrow it could be someone else. We must put a full stop to this,” he told reporters, adding that he has instructed the Commissioner to take necessary action.

The Karnataka State Women’s Commission has also written to the police commissioner, urging prompt action in light of the surge in online abuse targeting women, particularly after Ramya’s remarks.

This incident comes in the backdrop of the ongoing Renukaswamy murder investigation, in which Darshan and his associate, actress Pavithra Gowda, are among 17 accused.

Police allege that Renukaswamy, a fan of Darshan, had sent obscene messages to Pavithra, which allegedly led to his murder. His body was found near a stormwater drain in Bengaluru’s Sumanahalli area on June 9, 2024.