BENGALURU: When a cab pulled up in front of the gate of a shed in Rajarajeshwarinagar at 3pm last Saturday, there were about 30 men staring menacingly at its occupants. As S Renukaswamy, a die-hard fan of Sandalwood star Darshan, got off the vehicle, the size of the hoodlum-like men shrunk to less than two digits.
“Why are we all needed to teach this man a lesson?” the men said, sniggering at Renukaswamy.In fact, Renukaswamy, who was all nerves during the last leg of the fourhour journey from Chitradurga, breathed a sigh of relief when the crowd of tough men at the shed thinned. Taxi driver Ravi Shankar, who had driven Renukaswamy along with a few Darshan fans, narrated this to his fellow drivers back in Chitradurga.
According to Ravi’s fellow drivers, he told them he was made to stand outside the shed till late at night as tough men kept walking into the shed and leaving. Ravi, a 28-year-old resident of Chitradurga, became suspicious of what was happening inside. All he wanted was to be paid his money so he could drive back home.
As dusk set in, Ravi gathered from the murmurs of the men at the shed that Renukaswamy had been thrashed and had died. Worried, he decided to leave once he was paid. Well past midnight, the men who had brought Ravi asked him to own up to the murder and be paid handsomely, but he refused. He left around 2am after being paid the trip fare of Rs 4,000.
Two days later, when Darshan, his girlfriend Pavithra Gowda, and 11 others were arrested, Ravi learnt from the media that he had also beennamed as a suspect in the case. Shocked, he rushed to his colleagues and narrated what had happened. On their advice, Ravi surrendered before a cop in Chitradurga on Thursday.
His colleagues told the media that according to the cab-bie, when he left Chitradurga with Raghavendra, president of a Darshan fans’ association, and two other Darshan fans on Saturday morning, Renukaswamy didn’t anticipate he would be assaulted and murdered.
Another cabbie, Mohan, told reporters that Renukaswamy wasn’t forcefully taken to Bengaluru; he had happily had lunch next to a toll booth near Tumakuru. He didn’t try to escape from the team as he was allowed to attend nature’s call without any confrontation. “If he sensed the danger to his life, he could have easily escaped,” Mohan said.
According to him, Ravi told his friends that Jagadish, alias Jagga, a Darshan fan and auto driver in Chitradurga, had contacted Suresh, who also drives a cab, on Saturday morning to hire a vehicle to Bengaluru. Suresh was already booked for a Chikkamagaluru trip, so he requested Ravi to go on the Bengaluru trip. Suresh shared Jagga’s contact number with Ravi, who then contacted Jagga and discussed the fare. He rushed to the as-signed location near a fuel station and picked up the four customers: Renukaswamy, Raghavendra, Jagga, and Anu Kumar.
All four were busy discussing a social media comment about Pavithra Gowda and Darshan coming to know about it. They kept telling Renukaswamy they would take him to Darshan and suggested he just apologise for his social media comment. However, Renukamurthy was trying to convince them he had not posted bad comments.
Ravi drove till Madanayakanahalli on Tumakuru Road and later took NICE Road. They received a location on mobile and reached the shed, which is actually a seized parking yard, in Pattanagere.
Jagga and Anu Kumar, who returned with the cabbie to Chitradurga, were also arrested on Friday.
“Why are we all needed to teach this man a lesson?” the men said, sniggering at Renukaswamy.In fact, Renukaswamy, who was all nerves during the last leg of the fourhour journey from Chitradurga, breathed a sigh of relief when the crowd of tough men at the shed thinned. Taxi driver Ravi Shankar, who had driven Renukaswamy along with a few Darshan fans, narrated this to his fellow drivers back in Chitradurga.
According to Ravi’s fellow drivers, he told them he was made to stand outside the shed till late at night as tough men kept walking into the shed and leaving. Ravi, a 28-year-old resident of Chitradurga, became suspicious of what was happening inside. All he wanted was to be paid his money so he could drive back home.
As dusk set in, Ravi gathered from the murmurs of the men at the shed that Renukaswamy had been thrashed and had died. Worried, he decided to leave once he was paid. Well past midnight, the men who had brought Ravi asked him to own up to the murder and be paid handsomely, but he refused. He left around 2am after being paid the trip fare of Rs 4,000.
Two days later, when Darshan, his girlfriend Pavithra Gowda, and 11 others were arrested, Ravi learnt from the media that he had also beennamed as a suspect in the case. Shocked, he rushed to his colleagues and narrated what had happened. On their advice, Ravi surrendered before a cop in Chitradurga on Thursday.
His colleagues told the media that according to the cab-bie, when he left Chitradurga with Raghavendra, president of a Darshan fans’ association, and two other Darshan fans on Saturday morning, Renukaswamy didn’t anticipate he would be assaulted and murdered.
Another cabbie, Mohan, told reporters that Renukaswamy wasn’t forcefully taken to Bengaluru; he had happily had lunch next to a toll booth near Tumakuru. He didn’t try to escape from the team as he was allowed to attend nature’s call without any confrontation. “If he sensed the danger to his life, he could have easily escaped,” Mohan said.
According to him, Ravi told his friends that Jagadish, alias Jagga, a Darshan fan and auto driver in Chitradurga, had contacted Suresh, who also drives a cab, on Saturday morning to hire a vehicle to Bengaluru. Suresh was already booked for a Chikkamagaluru trip, so he requested Ravi to go on the Bengaluru trip. Suresh shared Jagga’s contact number with Ravi, who then contacted Jagga and discussed the fare. He rushed to the as-signed location near a fuel station and picked up the four customers: Renukaswamy, Raghavendra, Jagga, and Anu Kumar.
All four were busy discussing a social media comment about Pavithra Gowda and Darshan coming to know about it. They kept telling Renukaswamy they would take him to Darshan and suggested he just apologise for his social media comment. However, Renukamurthy was trying to convince them he had not posted bad comments.
Ravi drove till Madanayakanahalli on Tumakuru Road and later took NICE Road. They received a location on mobile and reached the shed, which is actually a seized parking yard, in Pattanagere.
Jagga and Anu Kumar, who returned with the cabbie to Chitradurga, were also arrested on Friday.
