Renukaswamy, who was murdered by the henchmen of Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa and his partner Pavithra Gowda, was offered a chance to take selfies with the actor by the abductors, reports said. After Darshan asked his fan group members in Chitradurga to bring Renukaswamy to him, the co-accused Pavan and Raghavendra got in touch with the 33-year-old and told him the actor wanted to speak with him in Bengaluru.
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Renukaswamy was conveyed by Pavan and Raghavendra that all he had to do was apologise to the actor and then he could take selfies with his idol. He would be let off for repeatedly sending obscene messages to Pavithra Gowda, they reportedly promised.
However, Renukaswamy was not fully convinced and the doubtful man was forced to board an autorickshaw by Raghavendra and Co. At the outskirts of Chitradurga, they boarded another vehicle which was used to take him to the shed in Bengaluru's RR Nagar, where he was tortured and killed, Mirror Now said in a report.
Once he was told about the abduction, Darshan and Pavithra joined the co-accused at the shed and started assaulting Renukaswamy. Pavithra hit him with her footwear repeatedly, it was found out during the probe. The police confirmed that bloodstains found on her footwear belonged to Renukaswamy through a DNA test, the chargesheet said.
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Renukaswamy was assaulted for hours and even administered electric shock in his genitals. He bled profusely as the gang took turns attacking him for hours, the report said. Upon learning that he was a vegetarian, the accused gang forced him to eat non-vegetarian food. In the influence of alcohol they unleashed unspeakable horrors on the victim's body including burning him in several parts, the news report added.
According to the post-mortem report, Renukaswamy died due to shock and haemorrhage as a result of multiple blunt injuries.
What led to the abduction and murder of Renukaswamy?
A fan of the actor, Renukaswamy, sent obscene messages to Pavithra Gowda for her role in allegedly derailing the actor's family. A furious Gowda wanted Darshan to act, and upon his order, the actor's henchmen identified and abducted Renukaswamy.
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Raghavendra, one of the accused and part of Darshan's fan club in Chitradurga, brought Renukaswamy to a shed in R R Nagar on the pretext that the actor wanted to meet him. It was in this shed that he was allegedly tortured and murdered.