Urging immediate action, she requested the police to take stringent measures against the accused. She also sought the removal of the offensive posts and Instagram accounts cited.
Published Jul 28, 2025 | 9:24 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 28, 2025 | 9:24 PM
She has submitted a list of 43 Instagram handles from which the abusive messages were allegedly sent.
Synopsis: Actor and former MP Divya Spandana has filed a police complaint in Bengaluru after receiving obscene and threatening messages on Instagram, allegedly from fans of actor Darshan, following her posts on the Supreme Court’s hearing in the Renukaswamy murder case. In her complaint, Spandana detailed how the abuse began after she shared news reports of the court proceedings, and submitted 43 Instagram handles from which the messages were allegedly sent.
Kannada film actor, producer and former Member of Parliament Divya Spandana, popularly known by her screen name Ramya, has filed a police complaint in Bengaluru after receiving a barrage of obscene and threatening messages on Instagram.
The abuse followed her social media posts sharing updates related to court proceedings in the murder case involving actor Darshan.
In a formal written complaint addressed to the Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru, Spandana alleged that she began receiving the abusive messages after she posted media coverage of the Supreme Court’s hearing on the Karnataka government’s plea seeking cancellation of the bail granted to actor Darshan.
“Disgruntled fans of actor Darshan, by act of mine of sharing the news reporting of the Hon’ble Supreme Court proceedings, have sent scandalous, ghastly and obnoxious messages to my Instagram handle through various accounts. The messages sent to me are so disgusting and misogynistic that I am unable to even reproduce the same in the complaint,” Spandana wrote in the complaint.
She has submitted a list of 43 Instagram handles from which the abusive messages were allegedly sent.
“The messages and the posts put by the fans of actor Darshan are outrageous, affecting my modesty as a woman. The obscene language used in those texts is scurrilous, lewd and filthy; they impend a direct threat to my life,” the complaint further stated.
Urging immediate action, she requested the police to take stringent measures against the accused. She also sought the removal of the offensive posts and Instagram accounts cited.
“I have been assured by the police that they will take appropriate action as soon as possible, so I’m hopeful we’ll get justice. With this I’d like to send a message, we all use social media, it’s the women who are suffering daily with sexual assaults, murder or online harassment,” she said, speaking to the media after filing the complaint.
“It’s not just for me. I’ve filed this complaint on behalf of all women who suffer through such abuse daily, so I hope we get justice.”
Darshan, a leading actor in the Kannada film industry, was arrested on 11 June 2024 in connection with the brutal murder of Renukaswamy, a resident of Chitradurga and a fan of the actor.
The murder was allegedly triggered after Renukaswamy reportedly sent obscene messages to Pavithra Gowda. The actor and several associates were arrested after a failed attempt to get others to falsely confess to the crime on his behalf in exchange for money.
On 13 December 2024, the Karnataka High Court granted regular bail to Darshan and several co-accused. However, the order drew intense scrutiny after the Supreme Court expressed concern over the reasoning provided by the High Court.
Justice JB Pardiwala of the Supreme Court remarked during hearings, “Don’t you think the High Court has basically given acquittal to seven? Very sorry to say, does the High Court dictate the same order in all bail applications? What is troubling us is the manner in which the court dealt, and says in the end that grounds of arrest on assigned in 302. How can a High Court judge say that?”
He further added, “We will not commit the same mistake as High Court did, we will not give any judgment for conviction or acquittal.”
The apex court had earlier also noted that it was “not at all convinced” by the manner in which bail had been granted.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
