Bengaluru, 29 Aug

Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa, who is currently in judicial custody in the Renukaswamy murder case, was on Thursday shifted from Parappana Agrahara Central prison here to a jail in Ballari, amid tight security.

The 24th Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court here on Tuesday granted permission to move Darshan to a jail in Ballari, after a photograph of him hanging out with three others, including a rowdy-sheeter, on the lawns of the Bengaluru jail had gone viral on Sunday, sparking an uproar.

The court has also permitted shifting of other co-accused in the murder case to various prisons in the state, and a few of them were relocated on Thursday.

In the picture, the actor is seen in a relaxed mood, sitting on a chair and holding a cigarette and a coffee mug. Also, a purported video of Darshan speaking to a person over a video call from the prison too had surfaced on social media.

According to police sources, Darshan was escorted to Ballari jail via the Andhra Pradesh route for security reasons and to avoid crowding of fans. They said he was taken out of Parappana Agrahara Central Prison in a police SUV and then moved into a police van near Chikkaballapur on the way to the district headquarters town of Ballari.

Escorted by police officials, Darshan was seen wearing a black t-shirt with a sun glass hung to its neckline and blue jeans, and carrying a water bottle and some clothes on reaching Ballari jail.

A few scenes of the 2017 Kannada movie 'Chowka', in which Darshan had appeared in a cameo role, was shot in the Ballari jail. A Bengaluru court on Wednesday extended till September nine the judicial custody of Darshan along with his friend Pavithra Gowda and 15 others, who are accused in the Renukaswamy murder case.

Nine prison officials, including the Chief Superintendent of the Parappana Agrahara jail, were suspended on Monday over their "lapses" after a preliminary probe into "special treatment" to Darshan. Also, three FIRs were registered, including against Darshan, under sections of the Prisons Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

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 June nine.

Raghavendra, one of the accused who is part of Darshan's fan club in Chitradurga, had brought Renukaswamy to a shed in R R 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, 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.