Bengaluru, 4 July

A court here on Thursday extended till 18 July the judicial custody of Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa along with his friend Pavithra Gowda and others accused in the Renukaswamy murder case.

All the 17 accused, including Darshan and Pavithra, were produced before the magistrate through video conferencing from Bengaluru and Tumakuru prisons, where they are lodged, as their judicial custody ended on Thursday.

According to police sources, 33-year-old Renukaswamy, a fan of the actor, had sent obscene messages to Gowda, which enraged Darshan, allegedly leading to his murder. His body was found near a stormwater drain next to an apartment in Sumanahalli here on 9 June.

Raghavendra, one of the accused who is part of Darshan's fan club in Chitradurga, had brought Renukaswamy to a shed in RR Nagar here, on the pretext that the actor wanted to meet him. It was in this shed that he was allegedly tortured and murdered.

According to the post-mortem report, Renukaswamy, a native of Chitradurga, died due to shock and haemorrhage as a result of multiple blunt injuries.

Police sources said Pavithra Gowda, who is accused number one, was the "major cause" for Renukaswamy’s murder, claiming that it has been proved from the probe that she instigated other accused, conspired with them, and took part in the crime.