Karnataka High Court on Friday granted regular bail to popular Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa Srinivas, Pavitra Gowda and other co-accused arrested in the Renukaswamy Murder case. Thoogudeepa was arrested on June 11. His friend and actor Pavithra Gowda was among the 16 people arrested in the sensational case.

33-year-old Renukaswamy was abducted from Karnataka's Chitradurga and brought to Bengaluru. A police probe revealed how Thoogudeepa and his associates tortured him to death and dumped his body in a drain. The probe suggests that Darshan and his associates tortured Renukaswamy over an allegedly derogatory message he purportedly sent to Pavithra on Instagram. The police have named Pavithra as accused number one in the case.

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Earlier, following the circulation of a viral photograph showing Darshan casually interacting with inmates, he was moved to Ballari Central Jail. Currently, he is hospitalized due to back pain.

Earlier, during his bail plea, Thoogudeepa argued before the Karnataka High Court that the deceased was a "menace to society".

The actor's counsel, Senior Advocate CV Nagesh, argued during a hearing for the grant of regular bail to his client. To support the assertion, Nagesh cited what he described as Renukaswamy's history of sharing obscene images of women and his tendency to have no regard for societal norms or respect for women.

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