Nine prison officials, including Chief Jail Superintendent and a Jail Superintendent, were suspended on Monday for allegedly giving special treatment to Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa, who is currently in judicial custody in the Renukaswamy murder case.
Kannada actor Darshan, who is imprisoned for the alleged murder of a fan, was in the news yet again on Sunday, after a picture of him sitting on a lawn inside the prison surfaced online. The jailed film star was seen smoking a cigarette and holding a mug in his hand while chatting with other inmates who sat by his side.
The undated picture kicked up a storm online, as people were furious about the unexplained privileges a convict was getting. According to reports, a video of Darshan speaking to someone over a video call is also doing rounds online.
Accused of the infamous Renukaswamy murder case, Darshan is held as an under-trial prisoner in Bengaluru's Parappana Agrahara jail.
Calling it a "lapse" on the part of the officials concerned, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara ordered a probe. As many as seven prison officials were suspended as of 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. Other officers who have been suspended apart from Chief Jail Superintendent V Seshumurthy and Jail Superintendent Mallikarjun Swamy 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.
Why is Darshan in jail?
Renukaswamy, the 33-year-old auto driver who was allegedly kidnapped from Chitradurga and murdered at a shed by a group hired by Kannada actor Darshan.
Renukaswamy reportedly sent obscene messages to Pavithra Gowda, for souring Darshan's relationship with his wife. Gowda tipped off Darshan, who hired members of one of his fan clubs to track down and kidnap Renukaswamy. His body was found in Bengaluru on June nine.
A total of 17 people including Darshan along with his friend Pavithra Gowda are currently in judicial custody in connection with the murder case.
