Karnataka Police slaps 3 FIRs on jailed Kannada star Darshan

Bengaluru: Karnataka Police on Monday filed three FIRs against jailed Kannada star Darshan, an accused in a kidnap and murder case, in connection with the preferential treatment given to him in Bengaluru Central Prison.

Photos and videos showing Darshan enjoying life inside the prison with coffee, cigarettes and making video calls surfaced and went viral on social media in the last 24 hours.

Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara stated after visiting the Central Jail in Bengaluru on Monday noon that based on the complaint by the prison department, the police have lodged three FIRs.

“This is a violation of prison department's Manual and the Prison Act. Action will be initiated against the guilty in the case. An investigation would be done on who provided Darshan and others with chairs, who brought them tea,” HM Parameshwara stated.

DG Prisons, Malini Krishnamurthy, who also visited the prison in the morning to conduct the probe, stated that in all three FIRs Darshan had been made an accused and the FIRs were filed based on the report by the jail superintendent.

“One FIR has been filed on usage of mobile inside the premises of the prison. The second one has been filed on smoking of cigarette in the premises and the third one is regarding the opening of the cell. There are names of prison officers and persons in the picture in it,” she stated.

“A detailed probe is needed regarding the incident and a senior IPS officer would conduct the investigation,” she said.

The photo showing Darshan holding a cigarette and a mug of coffee was taken on the evening of August 22, according to preliminary investigations.

According to the DG Prisons the CCTV cameras were not working on August 22.

Answering a question, she maintained that if they had information about the special treatment being given to Darshan in jail, action would have been initiated by the authorities.

“There are black sheep in the department and it is difficult to monitor everyone. The use of AI and installing more CCTVs in the prison premises is being considered,” she stated.

Sources explained that the authorities were considering shifting Darshan to Hindlaga Central Prison in Belagavi and his associates to various other prisons across the state.

Darshan is lodged in Bengaluru Central Prison with 13 accused people in the case of kidnapping and murder.

The 13 include his partner, the main accused Pavithra Gowda.

Another four accused are lodged in Tumakuru district prison.

The Karnataka prisons department has suspended seven staffers, including two jailers for allowing Darshan to smoke a cigarette and drink coffee inside the prison.

The video of Darshan seated on a chair outside his barrack with a cigarette in one hand and a coffee mug in another had gone viral on Sunday.

In the video, Darshan’s manager and other two jail inmates can also be seen sitting with him.

The development has stirred controversy in the state, raising questions about the functioning and rampant corruption in the prisons department.

Darshan's video has shocked the family of Renukaswamy, a fan allegedly killed by the actor, his partner Pavithra Gowda and 15 others.

The case is in the final stage of submission of a charge sheet and the development is seen as a setback to Darshan who was hoping to apply for bail soon after the submission of the charge sheet.

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 thrown into a canal. The incident came to light after the security personnel of a private apartment building saw the body being dragged by a pack of dogs.

Renukaswamy is survived by aged parents, a pregnant wife and a sister.