Actor Darshan's Bail Plea to Be Heard Today

A court here is slated to hear on Friday the bail plea of Kannada superstar Darshan, who has been jailed in the fan murder case.

The court on September 30 adjourned the hearing on the bail petition to October 4 after his counsel sought more time to place his arguments.

Senior counsel Sunil, appearing for Darshan, had met him at the Ballary prison earlier after the submission of the charge sheet against him to seek clarification on the murder of the fan, Renukaswamy.

The bail petition, filed after the submission of the charge sheet, has stated that the actor is innocent and has been "fixed" in the case. "Barring the major injury on the head, no major injuries were found on the body of Renukaswamy. There is no clarity on his exact time of death. There are contradictions between the statements before the court and the medical reports. There is no evidence to prove that Darshan has committed the crime of murder. The authorities have created evidence against Darshan in the case," the bail petition states.

Darshan had admitted to assaulting Renukaswamy, who had allegedly sent obscene messages to his partner Pavithra Gowda, but claimed that he was informed about the victim's death later, according to his 20-page statement mentioned in the charge sheet filed by the police.

The 3,991-page charge sheet, submitted to the 24th Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's (ACMM) court on September 4, has provided graphic details of how Darshan attacked Renukaswamy who was kidnapped and kept in captivity by his gang, leading to his death.

The charge sheet also claimed that Renukaswamy chatted with Pavithra Gowda by creating a fake ID on Instagram under the name Gowtham. He also claimed that he was better than Darshan, the charge sheet stated.

Meanwhile, sources confirmed that arrangements are being made by his wife Vijayalaxmi to bring Darshan to Bengaluru from Ballary by helicopter if the court accepts his bail petition.

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 his partner Pavithra Gowda, were arrested on June 11. Among 17, the court has granted bail to three of the accused.