Govt will give consent if police feel need to reopen case of suicide at Darshan's farmhouse

Bengaluru: Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Wednesday said the state government would give its consent if the police feels the need to reopen the case of death by suicide of a man who was working at leading Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa’s farmhouse at Anekal in Bengaluru.

Darshan was arrested on June 11 for the murder of his fan Renukaswamy who allegedly trolled the actor's friend Pavithra Gowda in obscene language. In all, 17 arrests have been made in the case.

According to the police, Sridhar S died by suicide in April this year, and in a note and also in a video he said that he is responsible for his own death and that no one should be held accountable for it. However, police are probing if there is any connection between the death of Sridhar and the Renukaswamy murder case.

Sridhar, who worked at a farmhouse of Durga Construction, which allegedly belongs to Darshan, also said he had decided to take the extreme step because of loneliness in life, police said, adding that the deceased person was unmarried.

“If that case (suicide) is related to this one (Darshan’s involvement in the murder of Renukaswamy), the police team will look into it. If the police team feel they need to further investigate Darshan in this case, then it will write to us (Home Department) and we will give our approval,” Parameshwara said.

He added it was natural for anyone to doubt whether Sridhar had indeed died by suicide after the Renukaswamy murder case.

Renukaswamy, a fan of the actor, was abducted from his hometown of Chitradurga by a key Darshan fan club member and his associates and brought to Bengaluru where he was tortured and killed. His body was found on June 9.

According to police sources, Renukaswamy had sent obscene messages to Darshan's friend Pavithra Gowda, which enraged the actor and allegedly led him to plot and carry out the murder.