D K Shivakumar rubbishes reports of pressure on Govt to favour actor Darshan in murder case
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Friday rubbished reports that the government is under pressure from "influential people" to favour Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa, who has been arrested in connection with a murder case.
He also refuted BJP's allegations against the Congress government of indulging in "hate politics", following the arrest warrant against its leader and former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa in a POCSO case.
"There is no pressure from anyone.....neither our Home Minister or anyone else is involved (interfering) in it (investigation), we are not recommending anything, we don't know anything," Shivakumar said in response to a question that some influential people are exerting pressure on the government in the Darshan case.
His statement comes in the wake of some reports about a state minister's alleged efforts to "shield" Darshan.
Regarding allegations that "royal treatment" was being given to Darshan at the police station where he is held and pandals were erected there to maintain "secrecy", Shivakumar said: "I inquired with the police. There are 13 accused there (at the police station), as you (media) stand with your cameras there from morning till evening, they (police) need an opportunity to work freely, so they have put (erected a pandal) there."
Darshan, popularly known as "Challenging Star", and his associates were arrested on Tuesday for the murder of 33-year-old Renukaswamy, a fan of the actor.
Renukaswamy, a resident of district headquarters town of Chitradurga, allegedly commented on the social media account of Pavithra Gowda, a friend of Darshan and small-time actress, accusing her of creating a rift between the actor and his wife. He also allegedly used "indecent language" and posted offensive messages, according to police sources.
On BJP alleging "hate politics", with respect to a case and arrest warrant against Yediyurappa, Shivakumar questioned about the saffron party's case against its leader Rahul Gandhi in connection with which he had to appear before a court here recently.
"I have not gone into details about it (case). The Congress party doesn't hate anyone. If I speak about hate politics it will go somewhere else, so I don't want to speak...I feel pity (for Yediyurappa), because I too have suffered from it. I know the pain," he said.
Yediyurappa has been booked under the POCSO Act and Section 354 A (Sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) based on a complaint by the mother of a 17-year-old girl who alleged that he molested her daughter during a meeting on February two this year, at his residence in Dollars Colony here.
"Case against Rahul Gandhi (filed by BJP) is what kind of politics" he asked. " It is the BJP that is doing hate politics. Did Rahul Gandhi give the advertisement? Is Rahul Gandhi AICC or KPCC President? He did not give any advertisement. It was given by our KPCC, based on Yatnal (BJP MLA) statement which appeared in newspapers. Didn't the BJP file a case against us? Didn't we go to court? What is it called? Didn't Vijayendra (state BJP chief) have commonsense for filing a case?".
Rahul Gandhi had appeared before a special court here on June 7 in connection with a defamation case filed by the Karnataka BJP for issuing "defamatory" advertisements in mainstream newspapers.
The advertisement ahead of Assembly polls last year had accused the then BJP government in the state of indulging in large-scale corruption during its 2019-2023 rule.
On June one, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar too had appeared before the court, in connection with the case.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Woman, 2 sons found dead in Delhi home; suicide suspected
New Delhi (PTI): Three members of a family were found dead inside their home in southeast Delhi's Kalkaji on Friday, with police suspecting it to be a case of suicide, officials said.
Police said the incident came to light around 2.47 pm when a police team reached the premises to execute a court order related to possession of the property. When repeated knocks went unanswered, the staff used a duplicate key to open the door.
Inside, officers found Anuradha Kapoor (52) and her sons, Ashish Kapoor (32) and Chaitanya Kapoor (27), hanging from the ceiling, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Hemant Tiwari said in a statement. All three were declared dead.
A handwritten note was recovered from the room, suggesting the family had been struggling with depression.
"The handwritten note indicates emotional distress faced by the family due to which the family may have taken the extreme step," the officer said.
The bodies have been shifted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) mortuary for post-mortem and other legal formalities under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), police said.
Residents of the neighbourhood said they were shocked to learn about the deaths, adding that the family kept largely to themselves.
Pankaj Kashyap, a resident of Girinagar, said he learnt about the deaths while leaving for work. "I live and work here and was leaving for work when I saw many people standing outside and talking. That is how I got to know that three people had committed suicide. I also saw several police vehicles outside, but I do not know much beyond that," he said.
Baldev, another neighbour, said the family had been living in the newly constructed house for around two years. "We only knew that a mother and her two children lived there. They had moved into the newly built house around two years ago. We did not interact much with them. Today we heard that all three have committed suicide, and whatever we know is based on what people here are saying," he said.
Another neighbour, Ramesh Kumar, claimed the family had earlier attempted suicide.
"About fifteen to twenty days ago, the two sons in the family had attempted suicide and police and ambulances had come. That was when I first got to know who they were. I do not recognise them by face, but we saw the ambulances and police take the two sons that day. Today again we saw ambulances and police arriving, so everyone came out to see what had happened. I do not know how long they had been living here, but this is all we know," he said.
Police said they are examining the family's financial condition, social circumstances, and other factors that may have contributed to the incident. Further investigation is underway.
