"Surrender Or Face Arrest" Message For Darshan After Top Court Cancels Bail

Darshan Thoogudeepa must surrender, or the state will move to arrest him, asserted a top aide of the Karnataka chief minister, moments after the Supreme Court cancelled the bail given to the popular Kannada actor in a fan's murder case.

The actor is a key accused in the Renukaswamy murder case that had sent shockwaves through the Kannada film industry last year. He must be taken into custody, ordered a bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan this morning, stating that the trial may be impacted and the witnesses influenced if the actor remains out on bail.

AS Ponnanna, legal advisor to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, also assured that no VIP treatment will be given to the murder-accused actor in jail.

Read: "Take Darshan Into Custody": Top Court Cancels Actor's Bail, Slams High Court 

The actor had earlier been filmed receiving special treatment at a Bengaluru jail. Leaked photos had surfaced on social media, showing the actor relaxing on a chair with a cup of coffee, holding a cigarette. This drew a sharp warning from the Supreme Court.

"The day we come to know that the accused persons are being provided five-star treatment, the first step would be to place the superintendent into suspension along with all other officials," said Justice Pardiwala.

The court also came down heavily on the high court for granting bail to the murder-accused actor, calling the earlier decision a "perverse" exercise of judicial order.

Mr Ponnanna also assured that the government will look into the medical grounds on which he was earlier granted bail for any discrepancies. The actor was given six weeks' interim bail in October after he claimed he was experiencing numbness in both his feet and needed surgery.

Renukaswamy, 33, was allegedly kidnapped from his hometown in Chitradurga on June 8 last year, on the instructions of Darshan, after he had made lewd comments on his co-star Pavithra Gowda. He was brought to a shed in Bengaluru, where he was tied up and beaten with wooden clubs. He was given electric shocks, too.

After he died, his body was dumped in the drain at midnight. It was discovered on June 9. The accused had discarded his mobile, but the investigation somehow led the cops to the crime spot, where they found bloodstains. Renukaswamy's autopsy report later said he died of a "shock haemorrhage" due to multiple blunt injuries.

Darshan, Ms Gowda, and 15 others were initially arrested in the case. The actor was granted bail by the Karnataka High Court last December.