Bengaluru  : Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Wednesday said police have been given a free hand and action will be taken in accordance with law against popular Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa and his associates who were arrested in connection with a murder case.

He said the police will probe and decide whether Darshan is a “habitual offender,” adding that they will accordingly invoke legal sections and take action.

“He (Darshan) was brought (from Mysuru to Bengaluru) on the information about his involvement in the murder and has been arrested, inquiry is on. Based on what comes from the inquiry, action will be taken. Law is equal for everyone whether it is Darshan or Parameshwara. So no one should take law into their hands,” Parameshwara told reporters here.

Mr Thoogudeepa was taken into custody over his alleged involvement in the murder of a 33-year-old man, Renuka Swamy, who is said to have sent obscene texts to actress Pavithra Gowda.

In total, 13 people, including Darshan and Pavithra, have been arrested so far in connection with the murder. The body of Renuka Swamy, who lived in Chitradurga, was found in a Bengaluru drain on June 9.

Renukaswamy, known to be an ardent fan of Darshan, was said to have been sending a series of lewd and defamatory texts to Pavithra. In his texts he held Pavithra responsible for Darshan’s separation from his wife Vjayalakshmi and said that she should stay away from him or face consequences, said a police source.

Renukaswamy was found murdered, with his body dumped in a drain in Kamakshipalya in Bengaluru on June 8. The deceased, the police say, was kidnapped from Chitradurga and kept captive in a farmhouse in Bengaluru’s Rajarajeshwarinagar, was tortured, and at around 11 pm died from his injuries. He used to work at a pharmacy in Chitradurga.

On June 9, an unidentified body was found being eaten by dogs by a security guard working in a nearby apartment, who reported it to the Kamaskhipalya police. The deceased was later identified as Renukaswamy, police sources told,

Another twist in the case came when Raghu Darshan alias Raghvendra, a district president of Darshan’s fans association, who was arrested in the case along with two others, on questioning began spilling the beans and the story slowly started unravelling.

Tracing the identity of the body using CCTV cameras and forensic analysis led the police to three men who allegedly had kept Renukaswamy captive in a shed. One of them belonged to the Darshan fan association and Renuakswamy was traced through a member of it.

“On finding an unidentified body of a male aged around 30 years and the injuries on it, a murder case was registered. We have analysed data using CCTV footage and other technical evidence which helped us identify the deceased as Renukaswamy,” Bengaluru police commissioner B Dayananda confirmed in a media conference.

“After this, the accused dumped the body near Kamakshipalya, and on finding the body, we registered a case,” said the senior police official.

The police arrested the Kannada film star after they found links and visual footage of Darshan and Pavithra at the location where Renukaswamy was brutally assaulted. It was revealed that first, a black Scorpio with the victim’s body left the location, followed by a red Thar belonging to the actor, seen in the CCTV footage obtained from cameras from a nearby residential complex. This places them at the scene of the crime and shows them entering around 11 pm and then leaving around 3.30 am. The timing of the vehicle approaching the godown and leaving was on the intervening night of June 8 and 9.

Using new-age digital mapping and identification, the Bengaluru police were able to identify Renukaswamy’s body and find his cellphone, which they used to access his call detail record (CDR) and social media handles. The investigation into the victim’s social media accounts also revealed that he had sent several obscene messages to Pavithra Gowda and received a series of calls from the arrested accused, three of whom are known to be working as Darshan’s personal security personnel.

Darshan was arrested in Mysuru on Tuesday morning while leaving a gym and Pavitra was held in Bengaluru later in the day after their link was established with the case.

According to the timeline of the incident, Pavithra, also a Kannada actor, had been ignoring the indecent texts from Swamy, who was unhappy with her relationship with Darshan. However, it is learned that over the past few months, the deceased not only continued sending lewd texts but also had been threatening her. This was brought to the notice of Darshan and his team. The police are yet to establish a direct link between the murder and the Kannada actor. He has been arrested based on the statements made by the ten other accused apprehended in the murder case.

Confirming Darshan and Pavithra’s arrest, the Bengaluru police have now launched a full-fledged investigation into the murder case and the involvement of others in kidnapping the victim from Chitradurga to Bengaluru and later disposing of his body in the city.

Darshan, who goes by one name, is the son of veteran actor Srinivas Thoogudeepa, and his brother Dinakar is a director. Having started his cinematic journey as a light boy in the Kannada film industry, he went on to become an assistant for veteran cinematographer BC Gowrishankar. He initially worked in small-budget films and television shows, but his first major role as an actor in a lead role was in the 2001 film Majestic. Hits like Kariya (2003), Namma Preethiya Ramu (2003), Kalasipalya (2005), Gaja (2008), and Saarathi (2011) built his image as a popular star with a large fanbase. He also lent his voice to many Kannada cartoon shows loved by kids.

Not new to controversies, Darshan over the years has had many brushes with the law.