Court orders to shift jailed Kannada superstar Darshan to Ballari prison
Kannada cinema superstar Darshan Thoogudeepa has been lodged in Parappana Agrahara Central Jail, Bengaluru, since June 11, 2024. He was arrested in connection with the murder of a man named Renukaswamy who had allegedly harassed Darshan’s partner. Since the crime committed falls under a heinous category and the suspect being a celebrity, the entire case has gained much media attention.
Of late, Darshan has been in the line of fire over alleged undue favors being showered on him in jail. Some leaked pictures surfaced of him smoking and sipping coffee in what looked like a cozy environment, flanked by other inmates, including his manager. These have sparked public outrage and raised questions about the integrity of prison management, particularly how such privileges could be extended to a high-profile inmate in a secure facility1.
Bowing to public pressure, the Karnataka Home Minister claimed that seven jail officials would be suspended, blamed in the case of special treatment given to Darshan. This will be a decision taken after the onset of an investigation into the viral photographic major security lapse within the prison system. The government assured further action against the culprits and that such an incident would not happen again.
Besides, the case has also been compared to other such cases involving celebrities getting VIP treatment within Indian jail spaces and the larger question of whether the penal system in the country is corrupt and favoritist.
#What are the allegations against Darshan in the murder case?
Allegations Against Darshan in the Renukaswamy Murder Case
Actor Darshan Thoogudeepa has been accused of murdering his fan Renukaswamy, an auto driver from Chitradurga, on June 9, 2024. Renukaswamy had sent obscene messages and photos to Darshan’s girl friend Pavithra Gowda.
The police claimed that a special investigation revealed Darshan, along with his friend Gowda and 17 others, had kidnapped Renukaswamy from Chitradurga and brought him to a shed in Bengaluru’s R R Nagar, where the latter was allegedly tortured and killed.
Darshan also confessed that he gave ₹30 lakh to one of the accused, Pradosh, so that his name did not come up during the investigation and for disposing of the body. The money has been recovered from Pradosh’s residence.
The police evidence, including the CCTV footage, revealed that Darshan was at the place of assault that saw the death of Renukaswamy. Police have recovered the seized articles from the spot, including lathis, wooden logs, water bottle, and bloodstains. According to the autopsy report, he succumbed to “shock and hemorrhage from multiple blunt injuries.” The viscera samples have been forwarded for chemical analysis.
Other than the murder charge, the police have booked under other relevant sections of the IPC for kidnapping, extortion, use of criminal force, use of deadly weapon, criminal conspiracy, and rioting.
# How did the police collect evidence against Darshan?
The police collected evidence against Darshan Thoogudeepa in the murder case of Renukaswamy using a few important methods:
In the captioned CCTV footage, an investigator is seen reviewing a recording of the red SUV, reportedly driven by Darshan, heading toward the location where Renukaswamy was tortured and killed. The evidence supports a sequence of events and puts a positive identification of Darshan at the scene at the time of the assault.
The police also conducted spot inspections at Pattanagere shed, the scene of the murder. They recorded the statements of Darshan, his associates, etc., during these inspections to establish the role of each person in the crime committed and searched for the weapons used in the attack.
READ ALSO: The Top 10 Most Beautiful Women in the World in 2024
-Physical Evidence: Lathis, wooden logs, a water bottle, and bloodstains were recovered from the site. These weapons were used to link the suspect to the murder.
-Confessions and Statements: Darshan was said to have confessed to paying ₹30 lakh to his associate for disposing of the body and erasing clues that might lead to his eventual detection. His confession and those of others incriminated him.
-Mobile phone evidence: Investigators sought to recover Renukaswamy’s mobile phone, which was quite essential to prove the nature of interaction he had with Darshan’s girlfriend, since it contained evidence of the obscene messages that are alleged to have triggered the murder.
-Witnesses’ Testimonies: Besides, statements were recorded from those close to Darshan, including his girlfriend. They were questioned about the events leading to the murder and those following it, adding more context to the investigation.
With these pieces of evidence falling into place, the police could construct a detailed scenario of the events of Renukaswamy’s murder and implicate Darshan and his associates effectively.
#What role do call record details play in the investigation ?
Call record details, in short CDRs, played a vital part in the investigation of the murder case in which Darshan Thoogudeepa was allegedly involved. Here they go:
-Communication Patterns: CDRs indicated a detailed log of calls made and received by the accused, including Darshan and Renukaswamy. This helped the investigating police to ascertain the frequency and nature of communications between them, which was essential in establishing a motive.
-Location Information: CDRs also provide information about the location from where the calls were made. This also becomes very important in cases of crime investigation. By analyzing the CDRs, police could establish where Darshan and Renukaswamy were at a certain point of time and thus corroborated statements by witnesses and other evidence.
-It helped in establishing whether Darshan was indeed present at the scene of crime during the time of murder.
-Timeline reconstruction: The time stamps of the calls played an important role in helping the investigating officer to make a timeline of what happened before the murder. Timeline reconstruction was important for linking the chain of activities Darshan and his gang members committed in the event before, during, and after the crime.
-Corroborative Evidence: CDRs also constituted corroborative evidence along with physical evidence and ocular testimonies. They helped to establish or discard the statements of the accused and other witnesses, which worked in favor of strengthening the case against Darshan by the prosecution.
-Legal Admissibility: CDRs are acceptable as legal evidence in the courts of law, given they are acquired legally. It only means that the data can be presented to substantiate the case of the prosecution but cannot solely help in conviction .
In other words the call record details helped a lot in connecting Darshan to the murder of Renukaswamy and remained instrumental in the investigation and prosecution of the case.
## Darshan Shifted to Ballari Jail after VIP Treatment Controversy?
-Following a furore over photos of Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa receiving special treatment in Parappana Agrahara Central Jail in Bengaluru, he has been shifted to jail in Ballari district.
-Nine of Darshan’s co-accused will face the harshest measure after being shifted to six other prisons across Karnataka. This comes in the wake of the actor’s photograph, lodged in a murder case, going viral of him lounging on the jail premises with rowdy elements.
-This move comes in the wake of a serious security lapse, as Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said Darshan and other inmates were found sitting together, drinking tea and smoking. Seven jail officials, including the Chief Superintendent, have been suspended for giving special treatment to Darshan.
-The transfer of Darshan and the other accused will be affected either at midnight or on Wednesday after the prison authorities receive a copy of the court order. In the new jail, Darshan will not be extended any privileges unless these are obtained through court, and the authorities will be extra cautious in treating him like any other prisoner.
-Comparisons are being made with other emotional issues in the past, like when Sasikala, a close aide of the late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, was caught on camera enjoying special comforts in the same Bengaluru jail, in 2017.
