Fan murder case: Darshan, three associates remanded to judicial custody till July 4

Bengaluru: The 24th Additional City Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) court on Saturday remanded Kannada superstar Darshan and his three associates to judicial custody till July 14 in the Renukaswamy murder case.

Karnataka police produced Darshan and his three associates before the court as their police custody ended on Saturday.

The other three accused are Darshan's three aides Dhanraj D. alias Raju (27), Vinay V. (38) and Pradosh (40).

The prosecution submitted to the court that the accused should be sent to different jails and should not be kept together.

The counsel for Darshan had objected to it after which the court adjourned the matter till June 24.

Darshan and his three associates would be sent to Bengaluru's Central Prison.

The court had earlier sent 13 accused, including Darshan's "partner" Pavithra Gowda, to judicial custody. They are currently lodged in the central prison of Parappana Agrahara in Bengaluru.

The police have charged Darshan and others under IPC Sections 302 (murder), 201 (destruction of evidence, giving false statement), 120B (criminal conspiracy to commit an offence punishable with death), 364 (kidnap), 355 (assault, using criminal force intending to dishonour a person), 384 (extortion), 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), and 148 read with 149 (rioting, being armed with a deadly weapon).

The probe has revealed that Renukaswamy was a big fan of Darshan and had allegedly sent derogatory messages to Pavithra Gowda on social media.

The victim was allegedly kidnapped, brought to Bengaluru, kept in a shed, and brutally tortured to death.

Darshan, Pavithra Gowda, and 15 others have been arrested on charges of murdering Renukaswamy (33).

Sources claimed that Darshan reportedly admitted to his involvement in the murder case, as per the remand copy submitted to the 24th ACMM court.

Earlier, in 2011, Darshan was arrested and spent four weeks in jail after his wife, Vijayalakshmi, accused him of domestic violence.

Vijayalakshmi had accused Darshan of assaulting her, threatening her with a revolver, and burning her with cigarette butts. Later, Darshan was released after Vijayalakshmi compromised with him and withdrew her complaint.