Darshan to be shifted to another jail; 7 prison officials suspended
A photo of the actor smoking with a coffee mug in hand in the Central Jail at Parappana Agrahara in Bengaluru emerged on social media on Sunday
Amid allegations of Kannada film actor Darshan Thoogudeepa getting special treatment in Bengaluru central jail, nine prison officials were suspended on Monday (August 26), and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the actor would be shifted to another prison.
Chief Jail Superintendent V Seshumurthy and Jail Superintendent Mallikarjun Swamy were among those suspended.
Darshan is currently in judicial custody in the Renukaswamy murder case.
What CM said
On his X (formerly Twitter) handle, Siddaramaiah said he had instructed the Director General of Police (DGP) to immediately transfer Darshan and others to different jails.
“The government has taken the case of providing royal hospitality to actor Darshan and others in Parappana Agrahara Jail seriously and I have suggested that the guilty officials should be suspended immediately,” Siddaramaiah wrote in Kannada.
“I have instructed the State Director General of Police to immediately transfer Darshan and others to different jails and to visit the jail and give a full report on the case,” he added.
The suspension of prison officials came a day after an inquiry was conducted after a photo of the actor smoking with a coffee mug in hand in the Central Jail at Parappana Agrahara in Bengaluru emerged on social media on Sunday sparking a row.
The picture shows Darshan sitting leisurely on a lawn on the jail premises along with three others, including two alleged rowdy-sheeters.
What Home Minister said
Others who have been suspended are jailers Sharan Basappa Amingad and Prabhu S Khandelwal, assistant jailers L S Kuppeswamy, Srikanth Talwar, head warders Venkappa, Sampath Kumar and warder K Basappa, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara told reporters here on Monday.
“Already seven officers have been suspended. After gathering more information after visiting the place, the Chief Jail Superintendent Sheshumurthy and Superintendent Mallikarjun Swamy have been suspended as it was a lapse on their part,” the Minister said.
He added that if more officers are found involved in this case then they could be either suspended or dismissed from the service.
The investigation will also follow to find out who provided cigarette, tea and chairs to the actor, he added.
3 FIRs registered against Darshan
“Three FIRs have been registered against him (Darshan) since he has violated the prison manuals. Action will be started against him,” Parameshwara said.
He said he has given instruction to carry out further investigation. Senior IPS officials will carry out further investigation. Action will follow based on the report, he added.
The Additional Director General of Police (Prisons and Correctional Services) Malini Krishnamoorthy said the three FIR pertains to the usage of mobile phones and cigarette on the jail premises and smuggling these items inside the jail.
“Darshan is a party in it. The FIR includes the prison officers and those who used these items as accused. A senior IPS officer will investigate it,” Krishnamoorthy told reporters.
What is the case?
A total of 17 people including Darshan along with his friend Pavithra Gowda are currently in judicial custody in connection with the murder case.
According to police sources, 33-year-old Renukaswamy, a fan of the actor, had sent obscene messages to Gowda, which enraged Darshan, allegedly leading to his murder. His body was found near a stormwater drain next to an apartment in Sumanahalli in Bengaluru 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 in Bengaluru, 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 Gowda, 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.
(With agency inputs)
