Kannada superstar Darshan Thoogudeepa and actress Pavithra Gowda were among those arrested on Tuesday for allegedly murdering a man who made obscene comments on social media about Pavithra.
The duo were arrested along with 11 men known to Darshan who were instrumental in kidnapping Pavithra’s social media tormentor and torturing him before he died on June 8.
Police on Tuesday picked up 47-year-old Darshan from a gym in Mysuru, his hometown, and brought him to Bengaluru.
The police made the arrests in connection with the murder of Renukaswamy, 33, a pharma employee from Chitradurga, who posted vulgar comments when Pavithra posted pictures of her with Darshan on social media.
Darshan was allegedly enraged by Renukaswamy's messages accusing Pavithra and the actor of being in an illicit relationship. Reportedly, Darshan had his fans association members track Renukaswamy to Chitradurga.
Some of the accused allegedly kidnapped Renukaswamy on Saturday, brought him to Bengaluru the same day to an industrial shed on a 5-acre plot used to park vehicles seized from loan defaulters. The men, including Darshan, allegedly assaulted the victim for hours before he died.
Darshan and Pavithra had allegedly gone to the spot a couple of hours after Renukaswamy was brought there around noon.
Police sources said Renukaswamy was fatally assaulted with leather belts and sticks for hours. Late on Saturday night, the assailants dumped his body in a drain near Sumanahalli on the outskirts of the city.
A watchman at a nearby apartment complex spotted the body when he saw stray dogs around it on Sunday morning. The body bore marks of assault and cigarette burns.
The police identified the body later and informed Renukaswamy's parents.
The arrests began with three of the accused surrendering on Monday evening, accepting responsibility for Renukaswamy's death but claiming it was over a financial issue. Their interrogation led to subsequent arrests of eight more.
More interrogations and technical and cyber forensic evidence based on call records led to Darshan and Pavithra.
The police have unearthed CCTV footage from the nearby areas to establish that the body was taken to the drain in an SUV.
Darshan’s lawyer, who identified himself as Anil, confirmed the actor was booked under IPC 302 (murder) among other sections.
An actor with a massive fan following and a long list of hits among his 70-odd movies, Darshan had spent a month in jail in a domestic violence case in 2011 when he was arrested on a complaint by his wife Vijayalakshmi. He was later acquitted following a compromise with his wife.
