Karnataka govt. mulling possibility of setting up fast track court to hear Renukaswamy murder case
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Tuesday indicated that the government is mulling the possibility of setting up a fast track court to hear the Renukaswamy murder case, in which Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa and 16 others are accused.
The Bengaluru police last week filed a 3,991-page preliminary chargesheet in the case.
"It will be decided.....there is a thinking in this regard, so that the hearing in the case can be completed soon by the court and give its verdict," Parameshwara told reporters in response to a question on setting up a fast track court.
"Having effectively gathered the evidence, a chargesheet has been submitted; based on that it will be decided," he added.
Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda said the police will discuss with legal experts and take a decision on the issue of constituting such a court.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka High Court issued an ex-parte interim order barring media outlets from broadcasting, printing, or publishing any information from the chargesheet against Darshan Thoogudeepa.
The restriction will remain in place until the next hearing.
Justice Hemant Chandangoudar, presiding over a single-judge bench, passed the order following a plea by the 47-year-old actor, who requested the court to restrain media organisations from disseminating confidential details contained in the chargesheet and other materials gathered during the investigation.
Darshan was arrested on June 11 in connection with the Renukaswamy murder case and has been in judicial custody since June 22. Currently he is lodged in Ballari prison.
Responding to a question on inquiry in connection with the "illegalities" at the Parappana Agrahara Central prison here, Dayananda said an investigation is on and three cases have been registered.
"Probe is being done by South East Division police. Also, an inquiry has been ordered by the state government regarding the loopholes in the jail and measures to be taken to plug them, which is being done by the Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Chandragupta," he told reporters.
With court permission, Darshan was recently shifted to Ballari prison from the Parappana Agrahara Central jail here, after a photograph of him hanging out with three others, including a rowdy-sheeter, on the lawns of the jail had gone viral, sparking an uproar.
In the picture, the actor is seen in a relaxed mood, sitting on a chair and holding a cigarette and a coffee mug. Also, a purported video of Darshan speaking to a person over a video call from the prison too had surfaced on social media.
The court had also permitted shifting of other co-accused in the murder case to various prisons in the state.
Nine prison officials, including the Chief Superintendent of the Parappana Agrahara jail, were suspended over their "lapses" after a preliminary probe into "special treatment" to Darshan.
Also, three FIRs were registered, including against Darshan, under sections of the Prisons Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Replying to a question, Dayananda said a few more reports are yet to come from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory in connection with the Renukaswamy murder case. "But, as we had gathered major evidence required, the chargesheet in the case has been submitted to the court."
According to police sources, 33-year-old Renukaswamy, a fan of the actor, had sent obscene messages to Pavithra Gowda (Darshan's friend and co-accused), which enraged Darshan, allegedly leading to his murder. His body was found near a stormwater drain next to an apartment in Sumanahalli here on June nine.
Raghavendra, one of the accused who is part of Darshan's fan club in Chitradurga, had brought Renukaswamy to a shed in R R Nagar here, on the pretext that the actor wanted to meet him. It was in this shed that he was allegedly tortured and murdered.
According to the post-mortem report, Renukaswamy, a native of Chitradurga, died due to shock and haemorrhage as a result of multiple blunt injuries.
Police sources said Pavithra, who is accused number one, was the "major cause" for Renukaswamy’s murder, claiming that it has been proved from the probe that she instigated other accused, conspired with them, and took part in the crime.
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SC should take cognisance: Priyanka on Sambhal issue
New Delhi (PTI): In the wake of violence in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday accused the Yogi Adityanath government of creating divisions while sitting in power and urged the Supreme Court to take cognisance of the matter and deliver justice.
Three people were killed and scores of others, including security and administration personnel, injured as protesters opposing a court-ordered survey of a Mughal-era mosque in Sambhal clashed with police on Sunday.
In a post in Hindi on X, Priyanka Gandhi said, "The attitude of the state government regarding the sudden dispute in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, is very unfortunate. The way the administration acted in haste in such a sensitive matter without listening to the other side, without taking both the parties into confidence, shows that the government itself spoiled the atmosphere there."
The administration did not even consider it necessary to follow the necessary procedure and duty, the Congress general secretary said.
"Trying to spread discrimination, oppression and division while sitting in power is neither in the interest of the people nor in the interest of the country. The honourable Supreme Court should take cognisance of the matter and do justice," Priyanka Gandhi said.
"My appeal to the people of the state is to maintain peace in all circumstances," she asserted.
The district administration has imposed prohibitory orders and barred the entry of outsiders till November 30 following Sunday's violence.
Deputy Inspector General of Police (Moradabad) Muniraj told reporters on Monday that Naeem, Bilal and Nauman -- the three men who died in Sunday's violence -- had been buried. All three were aged about 25.
Divisional Commissioner (Moradabad) Aunjaneya Kumar Singh said on Sunday, "Shots were fired by miscreants... the PRO of the superintendent of police suffered a gunshot to the leg, the circle officer was hit by pellets and 15 to 20 security personnel were injured in the violence."
A constable also suffered a serious head injury while the deputy collector fractured his leg, he had said.
Internet services were soon suspended in Sambhal tehsil for 24 hours and the district administration declared a holiday in all schools for Monday.
The Congress on Sunday alleged that the Adityanath administration was squarely responsible for killing innocents and only the BJP-RSS was guilty of "setting fire" to peace and harmony in Sambhal.
The opposition party had said the videos of direct firing on the protesters depicted the horrifying result of a "well-planned conspiracy" by Adityanath and the BJP-RSS.
