New Delhi, Sept. 21 -- In June last year, a man named Renukaswamy, who worked in a medical shop, was found dead miles away from home in a drain in Bangalore. It later emerged that he was a fan of Kannada actor Darshan and had sent an indecent message to another actor, Pavithra Gowda, believed to have been in a relationship with Darshan at the time.

The prosecution's case is that Darshan's henchmen abducted Renukaswamy, beat him up, tortured him, including with electric shocks, and in the process killed him before disposing of the body. It is also alleged that Darshan and Gowda themselves had beaten up the man in their custody, it is alleged. A few weeks ago, Pavithra Gowda's fresh bail plea was rejected. Around the same time, the Supreme...