Youth abducted and assaulted in Bengaluru over obscene text; attackers inspired by ‘Darshan case’

Eight persons have been arrested after a college student was allegedly kidnapped, stripped and brutally thrashed by a group of men on the outskirts of Bengaluru. 

 

The incident took place at Soladevanahalli, a locality in the Nelamangala taluk near Bengaluru on June 30. The victim, identified as Kushal, had allegedly sent an obscene message to a girl, who then informed her friends.

 

According to reports, the accused were allegedly inspired by the Renukaswamy murder case linked to Kannada actor Darshan and his associates. They threatened to kill Kushal in a similar fashion.

 

The attackers have also shot a video of the assault and shared it on social media. In the video, the accused were heard saying that he (victim) is Renukaswamy and they are accused number one, two and three. 

 

"We have arrested all the eight accused on charges of robbery and kidnapping," a police officer told PTI news agency.

 

What is Darshan case?

 

Renukaswamy, a fan of actor Darshan, was found dead near a stormwater drain next to an apartment in Sumanahalli on June 9 last year.

 

Darshan (47) and his friend, actress Pavithra Gowda, are among the 17 accused in the murder case. 

 

According to police, Renukaswamy had sent obscene messages to Gowda, which allegedly enraged Darshan and led to the murder. 

 

Raghavendra, one of the accused and a member of Darshan's fan club in Chitradurga, allegedly lured Renukaswamy to a shed in R.R. Nagar under the pretext that the actor wanted to meet him.

 

It was in this shed that he was allegedly tortured and murdered.

India