A picture and video from undated depicting Kannada cinema actor Darshan Thoogudeepa, who is incarcerated, enjoying a cigarette and having a phone call with criminal J Nagaraj, also known as Wilson Garden Naga, inside Bengaluru’s Parappana Agrahara Central Prison have gone viral.
The Indian Express was able to obtain the viral image, which features Darshan, Wilson Garden Naga, and other individuals sitting on the prison’s lawn and smoking cigarettes while carrying a cup. Darshan Thoogudeepa is seen making a video call in another video.
Darshan and 11 others were arrested in June in connection with the murder of Renukaswamy, a resident of Chitradurga.
A prison guard informed The Indian Express that they were aware of the video and picture and that the Director General of Police (Prisons) had ordered an investigation into the claims, even though The Indian Express was unable to independently confirm them.
Kashinath Shivannagoudar, the father of Renukaswamy, reacted to the widely shared image and video by expressing his distress over the pending probe. We trust the state police, yet it is disheartening that the murder suspects are getting away with it. We believe a probe by the Central Bureau of probe (CBI) is necessary,” he continued.
Darshan’s police custody ended on June 22, and he and his friends were taken to the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison. According to police, the chargesheet for the murder of Renukaswamy is almost ready to be handed to the court, and the investigation into the case is nearing its conclusion.
Wilson Garden Naga was charged under the Karnataka Control of Organised Crime Act, 2000, by the Bengaluru police last year after South Bengaluru criminal Mahesh N, also known as Siddapura Mahesh, was killed.
Reports regarding the provision of “VIP treatment” to prisoners in Bengaluru Central Prison have surfaced previously. Sasikala, the head of the AIADMK at the time, is also said to have benefited from special treatment while incarcerated due to a case involving excessive assets.
