BENGALURU: A 3,991-page chargesheet against actor Darshan Thoogudeepa, Pavithra Gowda and 15 other accused in the Renukaswamy murder case was placed before the 24th Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Court here on Wednesday.
Pavithra has been named prime accused, while Darshan as accused No 2. Kamakshipalya police submitted the chargesheet. It contains statements of 231 witnesses, of which three are direct witness accounts. It also contains statements of 27 people made before a magistrate, 56 police personnel, eight other government officials and 97 independent witnesses. Eight reports from Forensic Science Laboratory and Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) of Hyderabad have also been included in the chargesheet.
Bengaluru City Police Commissioner B Dayananda told reporters that the case has been investigated from all angles. “Tahsildars, doctors, RTO officials and government engineers have been made witnesses in the case. Reports pertaining to data from electronic devices seized are yet to be received from CFSL. They will be included in the additional chargesheet,” he said.
The chargesheet states that the victim had sent lewd messages to accused No 1 Pavithra Gowda using a fake Instagram ID @gowtham_ks_1990. These messages were the motive behind Renukaswamy’s murder. Information from Instagram has been included in the chargesheet.
Darshan, others charged with kidnap, conspiracy
As reported earlier, the chargesheet mentions that Pavithra, after receiving the messages, informed K Pawan alias Puttaswamy. After learning this from Puttaswamy, Darshan informed his fans’ association president in Chitradurga, Raghavendra, to bring Renukaswamy to Bengaluru.
Darshan, Pavithra and 12 others have been charged with kidnapping, murder, conspiracy and destroying evidence. Darshan has also been accused of paying money to four of the accused to own responsibility for Renukaswamy’s murder. The direct involvement of Nikhil Nayak, Keshavamurthy and Karthik, who had surrendered before Kamakshipalya police on June 10 claiming that they had murdered Renukaswamy over a financial dispute, has not been established. These three accused have been booked for attempting to destroy evidence by throwing Renukaswamy’s body into a stormwater drain at Sumanahalli, tampering with evidence and providing false information to police.
Details of the megger device used to give electric shocks to Renukaswamy has been mentioned in the chargesheet. Among the accused, Dhanaraj alias Raju is said to have purchased the device, while S Nandeesh and Dhanaraj are alleged to have given electric shocks to Renukaswamy at the behest of V Vinay, owner of Stonny Brook pub in RR Nagar.
Details of the CCTV footage of the shed at Pattanagere, where the murder took place, have been included in the chargesheet. Statements of Pattanagere Jayanna, owner of the shed, and also of Vinay’s uncle have been mentioned. A photograph of Renukaswamy pleading with the accused has been retrieved from Vinay’s mobile phone.
The tower location of Pavithra’s mobile phone that was active at the scene of the crime and pictures of Darshan coming out of the Stonny Brook pub have also been mentioned in the chargesheet. A detailed description of 39 injuries found on the victim’s body during postmortem has also been included.