Murder case: Bengaluru police to challenge bail granted to actor Darshan, others in SC
Bengaluru (PTI): Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda on Tuesday said that efforts are on to file an appeal in the Supreme Court, against the bail granted to Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa and other accused in the Renukaswamy murder case.
A proposal will be submitted to the state government in this regard, he said.
The Karnataka High Court on Friday granted conditional bail to Darshan, who is accused number 2 in the case.
The bench of Justice S Vishwajith Shetty had also granted bail to Darshan's friend Pavithra Gowda, who is accused number 1, and other accused - R Nagaraju, Anu Kumar alias Anu, Lakshman M, Jagadeesh alias Jagga and Pradoosh S Rao.
"In connection with the Renukaswamy murder case, with regards to bail that has been granted, efforts are on to file an appeal in the Supreme Court. We will submit a proposal to the government on this," Dayananda told reporters here.
Darshan was arrested on June 11. Pavithra Gowda and 15 other co-accused in the case were arrested during the same period.
The 47-year-old actor was already out on interim bail for medical reasons.
He had walked out of Ballari jail on October 30 after being imprisoned for more than four months, hours after the Karnataka High Court gave him relief for six weeks on medical grounds, to undergo spine surgery.
Pavithra Gowda, today walked out of the Parappana Agrahara central prison here on bail, after completing formalities.
According to police, 33-year-old Renukaswamy, a fan of the actor, had sent obscene messages to his friend Pavithra Gowda, 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 9.
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 hemorrhage as a result of multiple blunt injuries.
Police have 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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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
