Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Jul 3: A Bengaluru court on Thursday remanded three persons to police custody for five days for allegedly threatening a witness in the Renukaswamy murder case, in which Kannada film star Darshan Thoogudeepa is a key accused and is currently lodged in jail.

Police sources said Puneeth (40), Suhas (37) and Venu (33), all residents of Tumakuru, were produced before the court following a medical examination and were remanded to police custody for further investigation.

Puneeth, a grocery retail business owner; Suhas, a construction supervisor; and Venu, a software engineer, were arrested by Kamakshipalya police for allegedly threatening a prosecution witness in the case.

The three are accused of intimidating the witness and attempting to prevent him from deposing before the court. The witness had informed the court on June 30 that he had received threats over a phone call and was told to depose as directed by the suspects.

Police said Puneeth is the administrator of the Facebook fan page ‘D Company’, Suhas is its editor, and Venu is a member.

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 discovered in a badly mutilated condition.

Police arrested Darshan, his female friend Pavithra Gowda and seven others two days later, with further arrests following. According to investigators, the motive behind the murder was Renukaswamy’s alleged “obscene” messages sent to Pavithra on social media.

On September 3, 2024, police filed a 3,991-page charge sheet naming Pavithra as Accused No. 1 and Darshan as Accused No. 2, detailing the brutality of the crime, followed by a supplementary charge sheet.

On August 14, 2025, the Supreme Court cancelled the bail granted by the Karnataka high court to Darshan, Pavithra and others, allowing the prosecution’s special leave petition. The trial is currently under way.