Jailed Kannada superstar Darshan’s associate’s mother passes away

Bengaluru, July 20 (IANS) The mother of Kannada superstar Darshan’s associate, the fourth accused in a sensational fan murder case, passed away on Saturday.

Family sources said that although the elderly woman had been suffering from an ailment for a year, the incident of her son’s arrest had aggravated her health issues.

The deceased woman, 70-year-old Manjulamma, was the mother of accused Raghavendra, also known as Raghu. The family had requested the authorities to allow Raghu to attend the funeral. Earlier, accused Anil Kumar’s father, Chandrappa, had died of cardiac arrest following his arrest along with Darshan in the case.

Raghu is one of the main accused in the case. He was the President of the Chitradurga Darshan Fans’ Association. Darshan had asked Raghu to find the victim, Renukaswamy, in Chitradurga city and bring him to Bengaluru.

As per Darshan’s direction, Raghu tracked down Renukaswamy and brought him to the shed in Bengaluru where he was hacked to death. Raghu had told Renukaswamy that he could get away with sending derogatory messages to the prime accused in the case, Darshan’s partner Pavithra Gowda, by apologising to them. Raghu also promised Renukaswamy a photo with Darshan.

The court had extended the judicial custody of Kannada superstar Darshan and his associates for 14 days until August 1 in the case.

The gruesome murder of Renukaswamy took place on June 8 in Bengaluru. He was kidnapped from his hometown, Chitradurga, brought to Bengaluru, kept in a shed, and tortured to death. After the murder, his body was disposed of in a gutter.

The incident came to light after the security personnel of a private apartment saw the body being dragged by a pack of dogs. Renukaswamy is survived by aged parents, a pregnant wife and a sister.

When the police began the investigation, four of the accused surrendered, claiming responsibility for the murder over a financial matter. After Kamakshipalya Police interrogated them, the involvement of actor Darshan, his ‘partner’ Pavithra Gowda, and others came to light.

It was revealed that the accused had brutally hacked Renukaswamy to death for sending obscene messages to Pavithra Gowda. Actor Darshan and 15 others have been remanded to judicial custody until July 18.

–IANS

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