When a taxi arrived at a shed in Rajarajeshwarinagar at 3pm last Saturday, about 30 men were gathered there, staring menacingly at the occupants of the vehicle. As S Renukaswamy, a devoted fan of Sandalwood star Darshan, got out of the taxi, the number of intimidating men decreased to less than ten.
“Why do we all need to teach this man a lesson?” the men mocked Renukaswamy. Renukaswamy, who was nervous during the last part of the four-hour journey from Chitradurga, felt relieved when the crowd of tough men around the shed diminished. Taxi driver Ravi Shankar, who had driven Renukaswamy and a few Darshan fans, recounted this incident to his fellow drivers in Chitradurga.
According to Ravi’s fellow drivers, he explained that he was made to wait outside the shed until late at night as intimidating men came and went. Ravi, a 28-year-old from Chitradurga, became suspicious of the activities inside the shed. All he wanted was to be paid so he could drive back home.
As darkness fell, Ravi overheard the men at the shed murmuring that Renukaswamy had been beaten to death. Concerned, he decided to leave once he received his payment. Late into the night, the men who had brought Ravi to the shed asked him to confess to the murder in exchange for a handsome payment, but he refused. He departed around 2 am after receiving the trip fare of Rs 4,000.
Two days later, when Darshan, his girlfriend Pavithra Gowda, and 11 others were arrested, Ravi discovered from the media that he was also named as a suspect in the case. Shocked, he immediately sought advice from his colleagues and surrendered to a police officer in Chitradurga on Thursday.
His colleagues informed the media that, according to Ravi, when he left Chitradurga with Raghavendra, president of a Darshan fans’ association, and two other fans on Saturday morning, Renukaswamy did not expect to be assaulted and killed.
Another taxi driver, Mohan, told reporters that Renukaswamy was not forcefully taken to Bengaluru; he had happily eaten lunch near a toll booth near Tumakuru. He did not attempt to escape as he was allowed to attend to nature’s call without any trouble. “If he sensed danger to his life, he could have easily escaped,” Mohan said.
Ravi informed his friends that Jagadish, also known as Jagga, a Darshan fan and auto driver in Chitradurga, had contacted Suresh, another cab driver, on Saturday morning to hire a vehicle to Bengaluru. Suresh was already booked for a trip to Chikkamagaluru, so he requested Ravi to take the Bengaluru trip. Suresh shared Jagga’s contact number with Ravi, who then discussed the fare with Jagga. He rushed to the designated location near a fuel station and picked up the four customers: Renukaswamy, Raghavendra, Jagga, and Anu Kumar.
All four were engaged in a discussion about a social media comment regarding Pavithra Gowda, and Darshan became aware of it. They repeatedly told Renukaswamy that they would take him to Darshan and advised him to apologize for his comment. However, Renukaswamy tried to convince them that he had not made any negative remarks.
Ravi drove to Madanayakanahalli on Tumakuru Road and then took NICE Road. They received a location on their mobile phones and arrived at the shed, which was actually a seized parking yard, in Pattanagere.
Jagga and Anu Kumar, who returned with Ravi to Chitradurga, were also arrested on Friday.
