Bengaluru: It was only a day ago a photo became viral featuring murder-accused Kannada film star Darhan Thoogudeepa having coffee and cigarettes in jail. The photo had gathered criticism and raised the question of providing special treatment for him in jail once again.
Now, a video of the actor, who is lodged in Parappana Agrahara here, on a phone call has surfaced. NDTV reported the news but added that it couldn’t verify the footage independently.
NDTV describes that the video opens with a man in a yellow t-shirt smiling at another man on a video call. The second man then walks away with his phone, pointing the camera away from his face and handing it over to someone else. Then Darshan’s face comes on the screen as he cheerily waves his hand to greet the man. When the man asks the actor if he has eaten anything, using hand gestures, the actor smiles and responds with a nod. The duo exchanges a few words, and NDTV says that they wave goodbye to each other.
The video, which spans 25 seconds, shows that the actor is in a brightly lit room, and behind him, curtains are visible, covering the wall, and a few clothes hanging on hooks.
The Kannada superstar is accused of murdering his fan and autorickshaw driver, and the police have arrested 17 people, including his girlfriend, Pavithra Gowda. All the arrestees are in judicial custody. The deceased fan, Renukaswamy, was 33 years old and was found dead near a stormwater drain in Bengaluru’s Sumanahalli on June 9.