A Bengaluru court Monday framed charges against Kannada film star Darshan Thoogudeepa, his friend Pavithra Gowda, and 15 other accused in the Renukaswamy murder case.
All 17 accused were arrested last year after Chitradurga resident Renukaswamy was allegedly murdered for sending lewd messages to Pavithra Gowda on Instagram. The victim’s body was discovered near a stormwater drain in Bengaluru’s Sumanahalli on June 9, 2024. Thoogudeepa was arrested in Mysuru while shooting for The Devil movie.
Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge (CCH-57) Monday framed charges in the presence of Thoogudeepa, Gowda and other accused. All the accused denied the charges against them.
Seeing the crowd burgeoning inside the courtroom, the judge instructed everyone not connected to the case to leave. However, the commotion continued. The judge then decided to conduct the proceedings in a closed chamber. After clearing the crowd, the charge-framing process began. The court has posted the next date of hearing on November 10.
A source said the defence counsel made a submission to the court for an in-camera hearing. Thereafter, the court said it would decide on it on November 10.
Asked for his response, Renukaswamy’s father refused to comment, stating he would react after speaking to the lawyer.
Following his arrest last year, Thoogudeepa was lodged in the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison. However, in August last year, videos emerged wherein he was seen smoking a cigarette while chatting with gangster J Nagaraj alias Wilson Garden Naga inside the jail. Later, he was transferred to Ballari Central Prison.
Story continues below this ad
Thoogudeepa was released from prison on October 30 last year on interim bail after spending 131 days in jail. On December 13, the Karnataka High Court granted regular bail to Thoogudeepa and Gowda. The state government had approached the Supreme Court challenging the bail. On August 14, this year, the Supreme Court rejected Thoogudeepa’s bail.