Karnataka HC grants bail to four Darshan fans accused of sending vulgar messages to actress Ramya

Bengaluru, Oct 10 The Karnataka High Court on Friday granted bail to five fans of actor Darshan, arrested for posting vulgar messages to Kannada actress and former Congress MP Ramya after she expressed sympathy for the family of his fan Renukaswamy, who was allegedly brutally hacked to death by the actor and others.

Granting bail, a bench of Justice Shivashankar Amarannavar noted that the charge sheet has been filed in the case and the presence of the petitioners is not required for the investigation.

The accused were asked to produce a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh each, and each of them was also directed to produce one surety (a guarantor) who would also be liable for the same amount.

The accused who are released are K. Manjunath, C.Y. Manjunath. T. Obanna, K. Pramod, and Chinmay Shetty. The court has also granted anticipatory bail to one other accused, Vikas B.A., in the case.

Defence lawyers told the court that the accused are young boys and followers of actor Darshan. As the offence has taken place online, the question of tampering with the investigation doesn't arise. It was also argued that the authorities have completed most of the investigation, and the complainant, actress Ramya, is an influential and powerful person, and there is no question of a threat to her.

The prosecution objected and stated that the accused face serious allegations of threatening to commit rape and murder.

The Karnataka Police on Thursday submitted a charge sheet against 12 persons to the court in connection with sending vulgar messages to Ramya, after she expressed sympathy for the family of the victim in the fan murder case. All 12 accused are fans of actor Darshan, who is the second accused in the fan murder case. His partner, Pavithra Gowda, is the first accused. Both are currently lodged in Bengaluru Central jail.

The Central Crime Branch (CCB), Bengaluru Unit, has submitted a 380-page charge sheet to the 45th Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Court. The police have also included screenshots of the messages and comments made on social media.

The chargesheet also contains the statement of Ramya and the confessional statements of the accused persons. While the charge sheet has been filed against 12 accused, the police are still searching for six more suspects.

The police stated that an additional charge sheet will be filed once the remaining accused are arrested and investigated. Of the 12 arrested, four are still in jail, while the others have been released on bail.

The court is expected to take up the trial soon.

Darshan’s fans had targeted Ramya for sharing a post about the fan murder case and commenting that justice should be served. The accused had even threatened Ramya with rape.

Ramya had lodged a police complaint against 43 social media accounts. She had filed a complaint with Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh on July 28 against actor Darshan’s fans for sending obscene and defamatory messages following her remarks on the fan murder case.

In her complaint, Ramya stated: "The disgruntled fans of actor Darshan, for this act of mine of sharing the news reporting of the Supreme Court proceedings, have sent scandalous, ghastly and obnoxious messages to my Instagram handle through various accounts. The messages sent to me are so disgusting and misogynistic that I am unable to even reproduce the same in the complaint."

The Film Industry for Rights and Equality (FIRE) organisation had submitted a letter to state Home Minister G. Parameshwara demanding immediate action against vulgar and misogynistic social media abuse targeting Ramya.

Reacting to the vulgar messages and videos posted by actor Darshan's fans against her, the Karnataka State Women’s Commission had also urged the Bengaluru Police Commissioner to take action in the matter.

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