Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa faced the ire of netizens after he skipped his hearing in the Renukaswamy murder case citing health problems, but was later spotted attending a movie screening in Bengaluru. The actor was slammed by netizens as well for not even shying away from lying to the judiciary.
On Wednesday night, Darshan was spotted in Bengaluru attending a three-hour-long special screening of the Kannada film, Vamana, and later, he was all smiles as he interacted with the media.
Only a day before, on Tuesday, Darshan had missed the hearing of the Renukaswamy murder case and his lawyer had claimed that the actor was suffering from health issues and back pain.
The Civil and Sessions Court in Bengaluru has now warned Darshan that no further exemptions will be made for him and that he will mandatorily have to attend all future hearings.
Besides Darshan, all the 16 other accused in the Renukaswamy murder case, including the actor's live-in partner, Pavithra Gowda, were present before the court.
Darshan was granted bail on December 13 after spending five months in jail as the primary accused in Renukaswamy murder case. He was arrested on June 11 after Renukaswamy's dead body was recovered from a drain in Bengaluru.
The actor was earlier lodged at the Parappana Agrahara Jail in Bengaluru, but when a photo went viral showing him relaxing with jail inmates, he was transferred to Bellary Central Jail.
It all began when Renukaswamy, who claimed to be a fan of Pavithra Gowda, allegedly sent lewd messages to the actress, which enraged Darshan, who was Gowda's live-in partner. Renukaswamy's mangled body was found in a drain in Bengaluru on June 8.
Darshan confessed to the cops of torturing Renukaswamy before he died. According to the 3,991-page chargesheet, Darshan told the cops that he hit Renukaswamy with a tree branch and also kicked him on his head, chest and near his neck. He also admitted that he asked a bunch of his own fans to kidnap Renukaswamy and "teach him a lesson".
