BENGALURU: Three of the 17 accused arrested in the Renukaswamy murder case were granted bail on Monday. This is the first time that the court has granted bail to accused in the sensational case.
All the three accused are presently lodged in the Tumakuru prison. R Keshavamurthy (27) of Girinagar was granted bail by the Karnataka High Court in the morning, while V Karthik alias Kappe (27), also of Girinagar, and L Nikhil Nayak (21) of BG Road were granted bail by a city civil and sessions court in the afternoon. The three accused have got conditional bail, after serving over 100 days in custody.
They had surrendered to the Kamakshipalya police on June 10, claiming to have killed Renukaswamy over a financial dispute. Detailed questioning led to the arrest of the 14 other accused, including actor Darshan Thoogudeepa. Karthik is accused no. 15, Keshavamurthy is accused no. 16, and Nayak is accused no. 17 in the case. Even in the 3,991 page chargesheet submitted by the Kamakshipalya police, the direct involvement of Keshavamurthy, Karthik and Nayak in the murder has not been found.
The three have, however, been booked for attempting to destroy evidence by disposing of Renukaswamy’s body in the Sumanahalli stormwater drain, and providing false information to the police. The chargesheet was submitted to the 24th Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Court on September 4.
Meanwhile, the sessions court on Monday adjourned the hearing of Darshan’s bail petition to September 27. The same court also adjourned the hearing of the bail petition of Darshan’s friend Pavithra Gowda to September 25.
Renukaswamy, a pharmacy staffer from Chitradurga, was reportedly kidnapped and murdered at a shed in Pattanagere in RR Nagar on June 8. The crime came to light the next day, when a security guard of an apartment complex spotted the body.