Prateek Tanmay
3 min readBengaluruJul 3, 2026 10:03 AM IST
A Bengaluru court Thursday remanded three men to five days’ police custody for allegedly threatening a prosecution witness to influence testimony in the Renukaswamy murder trial involving Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa.
Puneeth, a grocery retail business owner; Suhas, who oversees construction work; and Venu, a software engineer, were arrested Thursday and produced before the court. The court ordered further custodial interrogation of the men, who are residents of Tumkur.
The Bengaluru police said Puneeth, 40, is the administrator of a Facebook fan page called “D Company,” Suhas, 37, its editor, and Venu, 33, a member, suggesting the group’s connection to the case stems from its association with Darshan.
According to police sources, investigators questioned a friend of the prosecution witness, Sandeep S, who allegedly admitted to taking him to meet Puneeth, Suhas, and Venu, who are accused of threatening the witness.
Threatened, coached
On June 30, Sandeep informed the court that he received threatening calls instructing him to testify as the accused directed. Sandeep, who is a cashier at a bar and restaurant, also said he was taken inside a car on June 24, a day after his deposition, by his friend.
He said unidentified men sitting inside the car allegedly instructed him to deny recognising the accused and claim that the police had dictated his statement.
“A person called someone on WhatsApp, saying it was an advocate and asked me to talk to him. There were four other people on the call. They told me to say that I did not know the murder accused, and that the police recorded the DVR and pen drive and took my signature. They also asked me if the police had asked me to give my statement in a certain way. I said no and got out of the car,” Sandeep said.
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“After this, some unknown people visited the bar and restaurant and were observing my movements. I informed Kamakshipalya police Inspector Natesh. I am afraid of giving a statement,” he added.
The court directed Kamakshipalya police to take note of Sandeep’s statement and asked him to file a separate affidavit so that action can be initiated against the persons concerned.
The witness intimidation case stems from the murder of Renukaswamy of Chitradurga, whose body was found near a stormwater drain in Bengaluru in June 2024. Actor Darshan Thoogudeepa, his associate Pavithra Gowda, and others were arrested in the case.
The police have said the murder was triggered by “obscene” messages Renukaswamy had allegedly sent Gowda on social media.
