Bengaluru: Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa, his companion Pavithra Gowda, and eleven other people who are charged in connection to the Renukaswamy murder case were given an additional five days in police custody by a court in this city on Saturday.

Their six-day police imprisonment is coming to an end on Sunday; therefore, they were brought before the court.

Given that Sunday and Monday (Bakrid) are public holidays, when the court is closed, the police decided to present them to Judge Vishwanath C. Goudar.

As a result, Darshan, Gowda, and the others will be detained by the police until June 20.

Darshan and his associates advocates counsel asked the court to place them under judicial custody. On the other hand, the investigating team asked the court to prolong police custody to retrieve vital evidence and tools used to torture the dead.

The 21st Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) court granted police custody after hearing arguments from both parties.

Darshan, popularly known as "Challenging Star," and 12 of his close associates were arrested on Tuesday for the murder of 33-year-old Renukaswamy, a fan of the actor.

Renukaswamy, a resident of Chitradurga, allegedly commented on the social media account of Gowda, a small-time actress, accusing her of creating a rift between the actor and his wife. He also allegedly used "indecent language" and posted offensive messages, according to police sources.

According to sources, one of the accused, Raghavendra, who is part of Darshan's fan club in Chitradurga, had brought Renukaswamy to a shed in R R Nagar on the pretext that Darshan wanted to meet him. It was in this shed that he was allegedly tortured and killed.

The body was found near a stormwater drain next to an apartment in Sumanahalli on June 9.

The investigation team is believed to have gathered enough evidence, including CCTV footage, which could establish that Darshan was present during the alleged assault on Renukaswamy, leading to his death, sources said, adding that the victim had suffered multiple injuries to his body.

According to sources, police took Darshan to his R R Nagar residence on Friday night to spot 'mahazar' and reportedly seized certain things from there, including clothes. PTI