Renukaswamy murder case: Darshan fan clubs under police scanner
Bengaluru (PTI): Fan clubs of Darshan Thoogudeepa are now under police scanner as the cops have intensified investigation into the Renukaswamy murder case in which the Kannada actor and his friend Pavithra Gowda have been arrested along with 15 others.
Renukaswamy, a fan of the actor, was abducted from his hometown of Chitradurga by a key club member and his associates and brought to Bengaluru where he was tortured and murdered. His body was found here on June nine.
According to police sources, Renukaswamy had sent obscene messages to Gowda, which enraged the actor, allegedly leading to his murder.
“The role of fan clubs is very dubious, especially after the Renukaswamy murder case. The Chitradurga Darshan Fan Club convener Raghavendra alias Raghu and his accomplices were instrumental in the abduction of the victim,” a police officer said.
According to him, the police are "screening" key members of Darshan fan clubs across the state and their activities as they are suspected to have harboured some anti-social elements.
“With his money power and clout, Darshan was protecting them,” another police officer claimed.
Police sources said the fan club members were allegedly heavily paid by Darshan and the film producers, directors and financiers to create a favourable box-office atmosphere whenever his movies were released.
To get a lucrative share in the income generated from Darshan movies, fan clubs would strive for the success of his films, the sources said, adding, often there would be a competition amongst them in various districts.
“It has also been observed that these fan club members would clash with the fan club members of other actors whenever Darshan movies were released simultaneously with the ‘rival actor’,” the sources said.
Police are also contemplating opening a rowdy-sheet against Darshan as he allegedly has contacts with some rowdies in different parts of the state who, many a times, operated through his fan clubs, the sources said.
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Doctor, his teenage daughter test positive for Zika virus infection in Pune
Pune, Jun 26: A 46-year-old doctor and his teenage daughter have tested positive for Zika virus infection in Pune city of Maharashtra, but their health condition is stable, an official said on Wednesday.
The man recently developed symptoms like fever and rashes, following which he was admitted to a private hospital. The medical facility sent his blood samples to the city-based National Institute of Virology (NIV) for analysis. On June 21, his reports confirmed that he tested positive for Zika virus infection, a health official of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) said.
The doctor is a resident of Erandwane area of the city, he said.
"After he tested positive, the blood samples of his five family members were collected and sent for analysis, and it was found that his 15-year-old daughter was also positive for the infection," the official added.
The Zika virus disease is transmitted through the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito, which is also known to transmit infections like dengue and chikungunya. The virus was first identified in Uganda in 1947.
After these two cases were reported in the city, the PMC's health department has started conducting surveillance, the official said.
Although no other suspected cases have been found in the area, the authorities have started taking precautionary steps like fogging and fumigation to curb the breeding of mosquitoes, he said.
"The mosquito samples have been collected by the state health department. We have started the general public awareness in the area and given instructions to monitor the health of pregnant women in the area. Zika does not lead to serious complications in general, but in case a pregnant woman gets infected, it may cause microcephaly in the foetus," he said.
