Special treatment to Darshan in jail: K'taka CM promises action against those involved

Belagavi (Karnataka), Aug 26 (IANS) Commenting on the preferential treatment given to Kannada actor Darshan in Bengaluru Central Prison, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah stated on Monday that action would be initiated against those involved. 

Speaking to reporters in Belagavi, CM Siddaramaiah said that seven people had already been suspended in connection with the allegations of special treatment to Darshan who is in Parappana Agrahara Jail on murder charges.

“Further action will be taken against some others as well. I have directed the Home Minister to visit the prison and conduct an investigation, based on which appropriate measures will be taken," CM Siddaramaiah stated.

CM Siddaramaiah also mentioned that a decision would be made on whether Darshan should be transferred to another jail.

Facing flak over the video showing preferential treatment to Darshan in prison, CM Siddaramaiah on Monday directed authorities to transfer the accused actor and his associates to different jails.

Darshan is lodged in Bengaluru Central Prison with 13 accused people in a case of kidnapping and murder. The 13 include his partner, the main accused Pavithra Gowda.

Another four accused are lodged in Tumakuru district prison.

The official statement from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) earlier on Monday stated that Siddaramaiah has taken the matter seriously and directed the authorities to suspend the responsible officers immediately.

CM Siddaramaiah has also directed the Karnataka DGP to visit the prison and submit a detailed report.

The photo of Darshan seated on a chair outside his barrack with a cigarette in one hand and a coffee mug in another had gone viral on Sunday.

In the photo, Darshan’s manager and other two jail inmates can also be seen sitting with him.

The development had stirred controversy in the state, raising questions about the functioning and rampant corruption in the prisons department.

HM Parameshwara stated that following the incident, DG Prisons Malini Krishnamurthy immediately spoke to the officers concerned in the Bengaluru Central Prison and an enquiry was conducted till 1 A.M.

Following the preliminary investigation, seven officers attached to the Bengaluru Central Prison have been suspended with immediate effect and the jail superintendent will be transferred as soon as the report is submitted.

The case is in the final stage of submission of a charge sheet and the development is seen as a setback to Darshan who was hoping to apply for bail soon after the submission of the charge sheet.

The gruesome murder of Renukaswamy took place on June 8 in Bengaluru. He was kidnapped from his hometown, Chitradurga, brought to Bengaluru, kept in a shed, and tortured to death.

After the murder, his body was thrown into a canal. The incident came to light after the security personnel of a private apartment building saw the body being dragged by a pack of dogs.

Renukaswamy is survived by aged parents, a pregnant wife and a sister.