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Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa, who is in jail in connection with the Renukaswamy murder case, has been at the center of a controversy surrounding his alleged VIP treatment within the prison walls. The issue gained further traction with reports emerging that prison authorities have provided him with a television set to mark the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi. Also read: Actor Darshan gets VIP treatment in jail? Visuals go viral
VIP treatment continues
According to Mathrubhumi, several sources stated that the prison authorities have allowed the installation of a 32-inch television in his cell. It happened on Saturday.
The report stated that Darshan had requested a television from the authorities last week to keep a tab on his ongoing case. He told the authorities that he was ‘curious’ to know what was happening in the outside world.
The source said that there is a provision to “provide a television as per prison guidelines and the delay occurred because the television had to be repaired”.
Sometime back, the authorities obliged Darshan’s request for a surgical chair when he said that he was unable to use the Indian toilet. Darshan had also requested permission to make phone calls which he was allowed.
Sometime back, a row broke out when a picture of Darshan showing him purportedly relaxing with beverages and a cigarette in the garden area of the jail emerged on social media. The undated picture went viral on social media, leading the prison department to investigate claims of VIP treatment for the actor who has been accused of the murder of a 33-year-old rickshaw driver named Renukaswamy.
About chargesheet
On Wednesday, Karnataka Police filed a charge sheet against Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa and 16 other people in connection with the murder of his fan Renukaswamy, listing the actor’s friend Pavitra Gowda as the main accused in the sensational case.
The 3,991-page charge sheet submitted in a Bengaluru court listed Darshan as the second accused and documented forensic and technical evidence against the two, including the recording of the “obscene” message send by Renukaswamy to Pavithra on social media, a police officer aware of the matter said, requesting anonymity.
Police say Darshan and his associates killed Renukaswamy on June 8 after the latter began trolling Gowda and posting derogatory messages on her social media profiles. Darshan was arrested on June 11 but a row broke out last week after a picture showed him purportedly relaxing with beverages and a cigarette in the garden area of the jail, causing him to be shifted.
About the case
Actor Darshan was arrested on June 11 along with his close friend Pavitra Gowda for allegedly being involved in the murder of his fan. Renukaswamy, the victim, was killed in a shed used to park seized vehicles in south-western Bengaluru on 9 June, 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.
