Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Nov 3: A Bengaluru court on Monday framed charges against popular Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa, his friend Pavithra Gowda, and 15 other accused after they pleaded not guilty in the Renukaswamy murder case.

All 17 accused, including Darshan, were produced physically on Monday afternoon before the Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge. The accused told the court that they were pleading not guilty, and the judge, taking their plea on record, framed the charges against them.

The court set the next hearing on November 10, when the trial date may be set. Following the hearing, Darshan and the other accused were taken to the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison in Bengaluru, where they will remain under judicial custody.

Renukaswamy, a 33-year-old resident of Chitradurga, was found murdered near a stormwater drain in Sumanahalli, west Bengaluru, on June 9, 2024. His body was badly mutilated.

Police arrested Darshan, his female friend Pavithra Gowda, and seven others two days later. More arrests followed subsequently. According to police, the motive behind the murder was Renukaswamy's "obscene" messages to Pavithra on social media.

On September 3, 2024, police filed a 3,991-page charge sheet, naming Pavithra as accused 1 and Darshan as accused 2, detailing the brutality of the crime. They subsequently filed a supplementary chargesheet.