Darshan-Pavithra appeared scared, the police should not be mistreating them, says actors' advocate Narayanaswamy G

Narayanaswamy G, Darshan's advocate who met them in jail, shares an account

Darshan Thoogudeepa, who has been accused of murdering 33-year-old Chitradurga resident Renukaswamy, is currently lodged at Annnapoorneshwarinagar Police Station. Advocate, Naryanaswamy G, who is representing the 47-year-old actor and his rumoured girlfriend Pavithra Gowda on the case met the accused on Thursday. He says, “I am permitted to meet the accused every day in jail. I’m not sure how they’re mistreating but my clients appeared very scared when I met them last. The police should not be mistreating my clients.

Darshan and Pavithra are in police custody as of now and request for bail will be filed after the remand custody is over

He adds, “According to me, Pavithra (Darshan’s rumoured girfriend) does not deserve to be in this situation as she has no knowledge about the incident. She is innocent, so is Darshan. He (Darshan) is not even aware of incident as well we have to wait for the court’s order and follow the law.”

Naryanaswamy G is waiting for their custody to end before requesting bail. Speaking to us, he says, “After my request Darshan, Pavithra and the rest of the aides’ 15-day period of police custody was shortened to six days. I also requested the court to order the police to present the findings of their interrogation before the court and myself every day, which the court then changed to every two days. However, I’m not sure if they are complying to the court’s order as the police has not presented anything so far. The magistrate court does not have the power to grant bail, as the case comes under trial by session, so we are waiting until the remand custody period is done before we can present our documents to request for a bail.”

Refuting recent speculation that the actors were served biryani after pictures of the dish being taken inside the police station surfaced online, the advocate says, "It is false news. The biryani was for the security and police personnel present there. And even if the biryani was for the accused, what is so wrong with that?”

Ask Narayanswamy G if he is in touch with Darshan’s wife Vijayalakshmi and he states, “I haven’t spoken to her and I don’t think I would either. However, Darshan is in very good terms with her and I’m sure she will be doing everything from her end to ensure that all the legal procedures run smoothly.”

He also adds that the police is likely to have completed their interrogation and procedures, but their reports have not yet surfaced. Is he prepared with evidence to prove the innocence of his client, we ask? Replies the advocate, “It is still too early and we are waiting for the police to get back to us first.”

Call for ban on Darshan?

Meanwhile, protests in the state broke out demanding a ban on actor Darshan, but Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce President NM Suresh, tells us, “We haven’t yet decided on the ban of the actor as the enquiry is still ongoing. If anything comes up, we will definitely take action.”