Bengaluru: In a major development in the Renukaswamy murder case, the court today framed charges against actor Darshan, Pavithra Gowda, and all other accused individuals. The accused were present in court as the judge formally read out the charge sheet and framed the charges. All the accused, including Darshan and Pavithra Gowda, denied the allegations levelled against them. Consequently, the court announced that the trial will commence on November 10.

Court Officer To Obtain Signatures From Accused

Following the framing of charges, the court directed that the accused sign the official charge-framing document. A court officer will obtain signatures from all the accused before they are shifted back to jail. Darshan and seven others will be moved to prison once this process is completed.

Lawyers appearing for the defence have also sought permission to interact with the accused. The hearing saw the accused brought from Parappana Agrahara Central Jail to the 57th Sessions Court amid tight police security. Judge IP Naik verified the presence of each accused before reading out the contents of the charge sheet.

Judge Reads Summary Of Pavithra Gowda's Role

The judge summarised the allegations against Pavithra Gowda, outlining the alleged sequence of events involving a message exchange, a conspiracy to kidnap, unlawful assembly, criminal conspiracy, and abduction. The judge stated that after Renukaswamy sent a message to Pavithra Gowda, a plan was hatched to kidnap him. He was allegedly abducted, brought to Bengaluru, and assaulted as part of the conspiracy.

Graphic Details Of The Alleged Assault

Reading from the charge sheet, the judge said:

“You kidnapped Renukaswamy, brought him to a shed, and assaulted him. You beat him with slippers, questioned him about the message sent, and humiliated him. You fatally assaulted him with slippers and a wooden log. Accused A2, Darshan, removed Renukaswamy's pants, assaulted him, and murdered him. After the murder, you conspired to offer money to certain individuals to confess to the crime.”

Allegations Of Evidence Tampering

The judge further noted that the accused allegedly attempted to destroy evidence by informing Darshan's friend Samata about the incident. The court observed that accused numbers 2 to 17 were all part of a criminal conspiracy.

In response, all 17 accused categorically denied the charges, asserting that the allegations are false.

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