Three associates of Darshan released from prison

Tumakuru: Three associates of jailed Kannada superstar Darshan were released from the Tumakuru prison on Wednesday. The court had granted bail to the three accused persons on September 23.

The 15th accused Karthik, 16th accused Keshavamurthy and 17th accused Nikhil were granted conditional bail from the court and they were required to deposit Rs 2 lakh each and provide surety from two persons.

However, the families of these accused persons could not manage to mobilise the money and the surety.

The families were struggling to complete the formalities for nine days and they finally got released on the 10th day after getting bail.

The accused had surrendered before the police on June 10 claiming that they had killed Renukaswamy with the help of other individuals. They were accused of taking Rs 5 lakh to make a false confession, as they were promised "big money".

The accused allegedly took the money at the shed where Renukaswamy was tortured and murdered. When the police questioned them after their surrender, they had revealed the names of Darshan and his partner Pavithra Gowda and others.

The accused did not face charges of murder in the charge sheet but of destruction of evidence, which is a bailable offence.

On June 9, Renukaswamy was abducted from Chitradurga and brought to Bengaluru, where he was confined in a shed at Pattanagere and brutally assaulted. Renukaswamy was murdered, and his body was dumped in a drain at Sumanahalli.

In connection with this case, 17 people, including Darshan and Pavithra Gowda, were arrested on the morning of June 11. All the accused are currently in jail and are under judicial custody. The court adjourned its hearing on Darshan’s bail petition to October 4 after his counsel sought more time to place his arguments. Meanwhile, sources confirmed that arrangements are being made by his wife Vijayalaxmi to bring Darshan to Bengaluru by helicopter if the court accepts his bail petition.