Post-mortem report of man allegedly killed by Darshan details 15 injuries
The motive for the crime, according to police, was that Renukaswamy trolled his long-time partner Gowda on social media platforms, enraging her and Darshan
The autopsy report of 33-year-old Renukaswamy, allegedly killed by Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa and his associates on June 9, shows that he sustained 15 grievous injuries all over his body — including his head, abdomen and chest pointing — police officers aware of the matter said on Friday.
The forensic evidence details a saga of brutal assault and suggests Renukaswamy’s head was forcefully rammed into a vehicle, leading a severe injury that eventually contributed to his death, they added.
Darshan and his long-time partner Pavithra Gowda were among 13 people arrested on Tuesday for the murder. Renukaswamy was killed in a shed used to park seized vehicles in south-western Bengaluru on Saturday night, and his body was dumped in a stormwater drain 10km away, police have said.
The motive for the crime, according to police, was that Renukaswamy, who lived in Chitradurga 200km from Bengaluru, trolled Gowda on social media platforms, enraging her and Darshan.
Senior Karnataka Police officers on Friday said that the post-mortem report concluded that Renukaswamy died due to shock and haemorrhage. “There was bleeding in his hands, feet, back and chest. He died of blood clots due to the severe assault. He was assaulted using a wooden stick and a belt. Additionally, the post-mortem report have revealed that dogs had eaten the man’s face and some parts of his dead body,” said an officer who knowledge of the report who asked not to be named.
A second officer said that police have recovered several objects used to torture the victim, including wooden logs, a leather belt, and a rope.
The police complaint in the case was lodged on Sunday by a security guard in a building close to where the body was dumped, hours after a food delivery agent initially noticed dogs scavenging on human remains, and alerted the police, HT reported earlier this week.
Police said that there was another breakthrough in the case on Friday when a man, identified as Ravi, who allegedly drove Renukaswamy 200km from Chitradurga to Bengaluru, surrendered. “He had gone into hiding after the drop off, and surrendered after members of the taxi association advised him to do so,” the second officer said.
Darshan, 47, who debuted as the lead in the 2002 film Majestic, is known for his roles in films like Anatharu (2007), Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna (2012) and Kaatera (2023). He is one of the highest-paid actors in the Kannada film industry. Gowda,35, who acted in a few small movies, now runs a boutique.
According to a detailed version of events leading to the crime offered by the police, Darshan’s wife Vijayalakshmi and Gowda got into a very public spat on social media in January after the latter posted videos celebrating a decade-long relationship with the actor. As their posts went viral, Renukaswamy, an employee at a medical store, who did not know either Vijayalakshmi or Gowda personally, allegedly started posting derogatory messages against Gowda on her social media profiles.
Police said that Renukaswamy’s intensive trolling of Gowda over several months ended up becoming the trigger for the murder, with Darshan asking the district president of his fan club, Raghavendra R, to first gather information about Renukaswamy and then arrange for him to be brought to Bengaluru on the pretext of meeting the actor.
On Wednesday, Darshan and Pavitra were taken to the shed to recreate the alleged sequence of events. During their investigations, police recovered the actor’s car, a red Jeep Wrangler, which was spotted near the crime spot in CCTV footage, and a Mahindra Scorpio, which was allegedly used to dispose of Renukaswamy’s body.
Raghavendra has also been arrested in the case.
Investigators said that a man named Deepak Kumar, identified as accused number 13 in the case, has volunteered to become an approver. They said that Kumar was present at the crime scene and had distributed money to individuals who initially confessed to the crime in order to protect Darshan.
While Darshan has denied any involvement in the murder, alleging that he left the shed before any ostensible assault on Renukaswamy, police said that Kumar has offered a different version of events. It was based on his statements that police on Friday identified and seized a goods auto-rickshaw that was allegedly used to ram Ramaswamy’s head.
The news of Darshan’s arrest in a murder has sent shock waves through Sandalwood, a moniker for the Kannada film industry akin to Bollywood which describes the Hindi film industry, with Darshan’s adolescent son Vinish forced to take to social media on Thursday to request people to refrain from hurling vitriol at his family, saying that the negative comments had taken toll on his mental health.
Darshan and Gowda, along with other accused, have been sent to judicial custody till June 17.