In the sensational kidnap and murder case involving Kannada superstar Darshan, purported photos of the victim Renukaswamy at the time of his brutal torture surfaced on Thursday.
The Karnataka Police submitted a 3,991-page chargesheet to the 24th Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) court on Wednesday.
One of the photos shows Renukaswamy, shirtless and sitting on the ground in front of parked trucks, in tears. He appears terrified and is seemingly trying to say something in pain.
Another photo shows Renukaswamy lying unconscious in front of a truck with the registration number KA 51 AF 0454. In this photo, Renukaswamy is seen wearing a vest and blue jeans.
However, the police have not issued any official statement regarding the leaked photos.
Sources said that these photos were collected as evidence by the police department.
Further, the sources stated that the photos were found on the mobile phone of Darshan's associate, Pavan, one of the accused in the case.
These photos were stored on Pavan's mobile phone. After taking the photos of Renukaswamy, Pavan went to a pub where Darshan was partying with friends and showed them to Darshan. He informed Darshan that Renukaswamy had been kidnapped, and kept in a shed and that they had started assaulting him. Darshan then went to Pavithra Gowda's residence, picked her up, and brought her to the shed, where they continued the brutal assault on Renukaswamy, according to sources.
Reacting to the development, Renukaswamy's father, Kashipathy Shivanagoudar, said that the family was going through a tough phase and turmoil following the developments in the case.
He said he was not in a position to speak.
Renukaswamy's uncle, Shadakshari, said that they are yet to receive a copy of the charge sheet. "Not even our enemy should go through this phase," he stated.
Meanwhile, sources stated that whenever Renukaswamy became unconscious, he was given electric shocks to revive him, and the accused continued the torture.
The gruesome murder of Darshan's fan Renukaswamy took place on June 8 in Bengaluru. Renukaswamy was kidnapped from his hometown, Chitradurga, brought to Bengaluru, kept in a shed, and tortured to death.
After the murder, his body was thrown into a canal. The incident came to light after the security personnel of a private apartment building saw the body being dragged by a pack of dogs.
(With inputs from IANS)
