Darshan's fans burst into celebration after he secures interim bail

BENGALURU: Darshan Thoogudeepa's fans burst into celebration in various parts of Karnataka on Wednesday, after news broke that the Karnataka High Court granted the actor, an accused in the Renukaswamy murder case, an interim bail on medical grounds.

Darshan’s wife Vijayalakshmi performed a special prayer at Durgamma temple in the district headquarters town of Ballari, where her husband is lodged in a prison.

Waving Darshan's posters, hundreds of his fans distributed sweets and burst crackers in several areas of Ballari and Bengaluru, among others.

Karnataka Housing and Waqf Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan expressed his joy over the interim bail granted to Darshan.

“He is my close friend. Obviously I am happy. I used to meet him at least once in two months before he was jailed,” Khan told reporters in the district headquarters town of Haveri.

According to police, 33-year-old Renukaswamy, a fan of the actor, had sent obscene messages to his friend Pavithra Gowda, which enraged Darshan, allegedly leading to his murder. His body was found near a storm water drain next to an apartment in Sumanahalli here on June nine.

Raghavendra, one of the accused who is part of Darshan's fan club in Chitradurga, had brought Renukaswamy to a shed in R R Nagar here, on the pretext that the actor wanted to meet him. It was in this shed that he was allegedly tortured and murdered.

According to the post-mortem report, Renukaswamy, a native of Chitradurga, died due to shock and hemorrhage as a result of multiple blunt injuries.

Police have said Pavithra, who is accused number one, was the "major cause" for Renukaswamy’s murder, claiming that it has been proved from the probe that she instigated other accused, conspired with them, and took part in the crime.