Bengaluru, 22 June

A complaint has been lodged against the aides of Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa, who was arrested along with 16 others in Renukaswamy murder, for threatening the eye-witnesses in the case, police said in its remand note presented in a court here on Saturday.

The court on Saturday remanded Darshan to judicial custody till 4 July. His four alleged accomplices too were sent to judicial custody.

After producing Darshan and three others before the court, the police stated that they were not making the names of the eyewitnesses’ public citing their safety.

 “Actress Pavithra Gowda, Darshan and other accused involved in the case have been ‘creating obstacles continuously’ in the investigation of the case.”

In the court, police charged all the accused with trying to destroy the material evidences.

Regarding Renukaswamy’s phone, police said, “The court is requested to grant permission to apply for Renukaswamy’s SIM card from the service provider to ‘re-access’ the data in the mobile phone, which the accused had thrown in the Sumanahalli stormwater drain to destroy the data.”

The police also told the court that all the accused contacted each other through web application and destroyed data. Hence, they sought the permission of the court to get the fresh SIM card of the accused.

Opposing bail to the accused, the police said the actor could destroy the evidences for being influential, rich and having a large fan base.

Renukaswamy, a fan of Darshan, was abducted from Chitradurga on 8 June and was brutally tortured to death allegedly by the 47-year-old actor and his gang for sending lewd messages to the key accused of the case Pavithra Gowda.