Three people, including the close aide of Kannada star Darshan Thoogudeepa, were arrested in connection with the murder.
Kannada actor Darshan. (X)
The Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) held a meeting on Thursday, 13 June, at its office to discuss a possible ban of actor Darshan, arrested in connection with the murder of his fan, and reiterated its earlier decision to wait for the police to conclude its investigations to proceed with any further action against the star.
“But we have decided to send a delegation to visit the family of the victim, Renukaswamy,” said veteran producer NM Suresh, president of KFCC to the reporters after the meeting.
The delegation will include executive members and former presidents of KFCC, he added.
Earlier, KFCC had held that actors cannot be banned from the film industry as such action is “illegal”.
The meeting was convened to discuss the implementation of perhaps a ‘non-cooperation policy’.
In the previous press meet, KFCC vice-president Umesh Banakar had claimed that KFCC can ask the industry not to cooperate with Darshan. This would mean that the 24 associations linked to the KFCC will refuse to work with the star, he added.
According to him, KFCC had tried to enforce a ban before but were compelled to repeal that.
Meanwhile, even as the Karnataka film fraternity is mum over the unfolding events, refusing to comment on Darshan’s arrest or possible involvement in the murder, as well as the toxic fan culture in the southern India, director Ram Gopal Varma, who had always been vocal about the unhealthy fan obsession, took to X to post his thoughts.
“A star using one die-hard fan to kill another die-hard fan who was interfering in his personal life is a fit example of the bizarreness of the star worship syndrome… Fans wanting to order how their stars should run their lives is an unavoidable side effect of the same syndrome,” posted Varma on X.
A star using one die hard fan to kill another die hard fan who was interfering in his personal life is a fit example of the bizarreness of the star worship syndrome ..Fans wanting to order how their stars should run their lives is a unavoidable side effect of the same syndrome
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) June 13, 2024
Three people, including the close aide of Kannada star Darshan Thoogudeepa, were arrested in connection with the murder of Renukaswamy even as the police recovered CCTV footage showing the suspected abduction of the victim in a car.
According to police sources, Darshan’s aide Nagaraj was looking after all the dealings of the actor.
He was also taking care of Darshan’s farmhouse in Mysuru.
Nagaraj was on the run ever since the police arrested Darshan, his friend and actress Pavithra Gowda and 11 other henchmen.
Sources did not divulge details about his co-star Pradosh’s role in the murder.
Pradosh had appeared in minor roles in some movies in which Darshan was the lead actor.
Another henchman identified as Ravi surrendered before the Deputy Superintendent of Police on Thursday evening.
He is a resident of Kurubarahatti in the district headquarter town of Chitradurga, and was at large ever since the murder came to light.
So far 16 people have been arrested including Darshan and Pavithra.
Darshan and his gang were arrested in connection with the murder of Renukaswamy from Chitradurga on 8 June night for allegedly sending lewd messages to Pavithra.
The victim’s body was then dumped in a stormwater drain at Kamakshipalya police station limits.
Police got to know about the murder when a food delivery boy alerted them about dogs eating the body of a man.
On 9 June, three accused had approached police and confessed to having murdered Renukaswamy over a financial dispute. As the investigation progressed, police learnt that the trio was trying to mislead the investigation and that Darshan and gang was involved in it.
During inquiry, the police team learnt that Darshan reportedly offered the gang members ₹30 lakh and agreed to take care of their families till they are out of jail.
“Some amount was also transferred, which is the major evidence in this case,” a source said.
The team probing the murder case stumbled upon the CCTV footage showing the suspected abduction of the victim by some associates of Darshan in this district headquarters town of Chitradurga.
The footage extracted on June 8 showed the car zooming past the highway. Police believed that Renukaswamy was inside the car.
They suspect that the 34-year-old pharmacy worker, a fan of Darshan, was “lured” by his abductors.
“He was then driven straight to Bengaluru where he was tortured to death,” a police official said.
Sources said Darshan, popularly known as “Challenging star”, was furious with Renukaswamy after he sent obscene messages and images to Pavithra Gowda (33).
(Disclaimer: The headline, subheads, and intro of this report along with the photos may have been reworked by South First. The rest of the content is from a syndicated feed, and has been edited for style.)
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