Darshan case: Trio was offered Rs 30 lakh to dispose of Renukaswamy’s body

BENGALURU: The 13 accused, including actor Darshan and Pavitra Gowda, who have been arrested in the murder case of Renukaswamy of Chitradurga, have been remanded to police custody for six days. Initial investigation has revealed that Darshan had made elaborate plans to distance himself from the case and even attempted to destroy evidence.

Earlier, three people surrendered before the police over their involvement in the murder. The investigation so far revealed some surprising and shocking information — the three were not the murderers. Darshan allegedly hired them to dispose of the body of Renukaswamy and offered them Rs 30 lakh. The trio was not even involved in assault or kidnapping.

Darshan allegedly had hatched the plan to mislead the police investigation and clinched the deal with the trio. Now, the police have booked them under a separate section for perjury.

After killing Renukaswamy and disposing of the dead body, the accused went weak in the knees. Thus, Darshan directed the three to surrender before the police, and accordingly, they surrendered before the Kamakshipalya police on June 10 and stated that they had committed the murder for financial reasons.

The police questioned the three separately on suspicion and all the three gave differing statements. When the police checked their mobile phones, they came to know that Darshan had made a WhatsApp call during the night. When the police learned about this, they intensified the investigation.

On Wednesday, the Kamakshipalya police conducted a spot inspection near the drainage close to Sumanahalli flyover where the body of Renukacharya was dumped in the presence of four accused. The police also conducted spot inspections at the shed in Pettigegere where Renukaswamy was tortured and killed and also seized darshan’s SUV.