Renukaswamy murder case witnesses threatened by actor Darshan aides: Police tells Court
Bengaluru, Jun 22: A complaint has been lodged against the aides of Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa, who was arrested along with 16 others in connection with Renukaswamy murder, for threatening the eye-witnesses in the case, police said in its remand note presented in a court here on Saturday.
After producing Darshan and three others before the court, the police stated that they were not making the names of the eyewitnesses public citing their safety.
"A complaint has been lodged against the aides of the accused number two (Darshan) for threatening the eye-witnesses of the case at the Annapoorneshwari Nagar police station,” the remand note said.
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“Actress Pavithra Gowda(A1), Darshan(A2) and other accused involved in the case have been ‘creating obstacles continuously’ in the investigation of the case.”
In the court, police charged all the accused with trying to destroy the material evidences.
Regarding Renukaswamy’s phone, police said, “The court is requested to grant permission to apply for Renukaswamy’s SIM card from the service provider to ‘re-access’ the data in the mobile phone, which the accused had thrown in the Sumanahalli Stormwater Drain to destroy the data.”
The police also told the court that all the accused contacted each other through web application and destroyed data. Hence, they sought the permission of the court to get the fresh SIM card of the accused.
Opposing bail to the accused, the police said the actor could destroy the evidences for being influential, rich and having a large fan base.
Renukaswamy, a fan of Darshan, was abducted from Chitradurga on June 8 and was brutally tortured to death allegedly by the 47-year-old actor and his gang for sending lewd messages to the key accused of the case Pavithra Gowda.
Police have so far arrested 17 people while hunt is on for a few others involved in the crime.
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Woman in labour dies while being transported in ambulance lacking oxygen support
Palghar (PTI): A 26-year-old pregnant woman from Maharashtra's Palghar district died while being taken to hospital in an ambulance which was not equipped with oxygen and other necessary facilities, authorities said on Wednesday.
Palghar's Civil Surgeon Dr Ramdas Marad said the health department has repeatedly raised concerns with authorities about the lack of specialised ambulances in the region.
The woman, who was in labour pain, was brought to a rural hospital here in a critical state on Tuesday evening.
"If she had come earlier, we could have saved her," the health official said.
Palghar Lok Sabha member Dr Hemant Savara said the health department should take necessary action into the matter and ambulance services should have adequate facilities.
Pinki Dongarkar, resident of Sarni village, went into labour on Tuesday evening.
Her family immediately rushed her to Kasa rural hospital, but due to the critical nature of her condition, the staff there referred her to neighbouring Silvassa city (in the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu) for further medical attention.
However, despite frantic attempts by her family to secure an ambulance equipped with oxygen and necessary medical facilities through the '108' emergency service, their requests went unanswered, a health official said.
They were eventually provided with a regular ambulance by the Kasa rural hospital.
While en route to Silvassa, the woman succumbed to complications and the foetus also did not survive, health officials confirmed.
Dr Marad said the woman was brought to the Kasa rural hospital in a critical state.
According to him, the woman suffered from a condition called Intrauterine Fetal Death (IUFD), where the foetus died in the womb. The exact time of the foetal death could not be determined.
Upon arrival at the hospital, the woman was semi-conscious and showed signs of severe infection.
On issues with the 108 emergency ambulance services, which are privately operated, Dr Marad said the ambulance might have been unavailable due to high demand.
The health department has repeatedly raised concerns with authorities about the lack of specialised ambulances in the region, he said.
Talking to PTI, Palghar BJP MP Savara said, "This is a very sad incident. The health department should take necessary action in this connection. Also, such an incident should not happen in future for this reason."
"The ambulance services should have adequate oxygen and cardiac support facilities. Also, a doctor is required to accompany the patient. I will follow it up with the government," he said.
CPI (M) leader Vinod Nikole, the newly-elected assembly member from Dahanu in Palghar, said he had raised the issue in the House during his last term, but no action was taken.
He criticised the government over "indifference" towards improving healthcare facilities, particularly in tribal areas, and accused the state of prioritising other programmes, such as the Ladki Bahin Yojana, over the urgent needs of healthcare in rural regions.
