BENGALURU: Four fall guys who came forward to claim they murdered 33-year-old S Renuka Swamy over a "financial dispute" were allegedly offered Rs 20 lakh to conceal the alleged role of Kannada film star
Darshan in the crime, police officers privy to the investigation claimed. Swamy, a drugstore employee who had allegedly posted an offensive comment against Darshan's girlfriend, Pavithra Gowda, was bundled into a van from Chitradurga and brought to Bengaluru where he was allegedly tortured to death.
The cover-up began after his body was discovered and police set off on the trail of the murderers.
The quartet - Raghavendra, Karthik, alias Kappe, Nikhil Nayak and Keshavmurthy - had appeared before Bengaluru's Kamakshipalya police around 7pm on June 10, owning up the crime. During interrogation, they confessed to having been roped in by Darshan's friend, Deepak, a relative of a city MLA and under arrest, to claim the crime, police claimed.
"The four had been instructed not to take Darshan's name anywhere," the remand application filed by the police quoted them as saying. While Deepak allegedly paid Rs 5 lakh each to Nikhil and Keshavmurthy, the other two - Karthik and Raghavendra - were told their share of money would be paid to their families after they go to jail. According to sources, the actor had allegedly paid Rs 30 lakh to his aides to find fall guys before police reached his doorstep. Police sources said they suspect Darshan and his team were tipped off about the line of investigation after the tortured man's body was found, forcing the former to launch a cover-up.
Based on the statement given by the four, the remaining accused, including Darshan and his girlfriend Pavithra Gowda, were detained.