BENGALURU: A purported video clipping of a video call capturing murder accused Kannada actor Darshan, a rowdy-sheeter, and Dharma speaking to a person has gone viral.
Taking a serious not of the incident, the prison authorities have suspended seven jail officials, state home minister G Parameshwara said.
The 25-second Instagram clip suggests that the call was made from a cell in Central Prison, Parappana Agrahara.
The police suspect that the person who spoke to Darshan and Dharma is an anti-social element named Sathya.
A senior officer said that they were trying to verify the authenticity of the video clip.
He said Sathya is the son of rowdy-sheeter Janardhan, of Byadarahalli.
Sathya was also lodged in prison in a case related to assaulting youths with a machete a few months back. He is currently out on bail.
It is said that Dharma made a video call to Sathya and handed the phone to Darshan. Darshan and Sathya are said to have conversed about their wellbeing. Later, in the video call, Dharma speaks to Sathya and disconnects the call.
Dharma is a rowdy-sheeter of Banasawadi police station. He is arrested in the murder case of Karthikeyan and is in judicial custody. The director general of police (DGP), Malini Krishnamurthy, has already formed a team to probe into the purported video and the privileges given to Darshan in the prison.
Why Sandalwood actor Darshan is in prison?
A total of 17 people, including Darshan along with his friend Pavithra Gowda, are currently in judicial custody in connection with the murder of Renukaswamy. Bengaluru police commissioner B Dayananda had recently said the final report will be submitted to the court by the police in the murder case, at the earliest, after getting the remaining forensic reports.
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 the fan’s murder. His body was found near a stormwater drain next to an apartment in Sumanahalli here on June 9.
Renukaswamy was beaten to death, allegedly by Darshan, his girlfriend Pavithra Gowda, and his aides, on June 8. On Saturday, police had sought extension of the accused’s custody, saying they had to seize Darshan’s clothes and shoes as they were crucial evidence.
Police initially thought that Darshan’s clothes and footwear could be found either in his house in Rajarajeshwari Nagar or at Pavithra’s residence in Kenchenahalli.
According to sources, Darshan told his interrogators that he had kept the clothes and footwear he was wearing on the day of the crime in his RR Nagar residence. Police were hoping to find Renukaswamy’s bloodstains on it.