Bengaluru: Pavithra Gowda is not Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa’s second wife or partner, his lawyer has said, reported media.

Darshan Thoogudeepa and Pavithra Gowda are currently in jail along with 14 others in connection with the murder of one Renukaswamy, a resident of Karnataka’s Chitradurga, who wrote derogatory comments on Pavithra’s social media account.

According to media reports, Darshan Thoogudeepa was urged by Pavithra Gowda to punish Renukaswamy for the comments.

In an interview with India Today TV, Anil Babu firmly denied reports claiming that Pavithra Gowda is Darshan Thoogudeepa’s second wife or partner. He clarified that Vijayalakshmi is the actor's legally wedded wife and that Pavithra Gowda is merely a co-star and friend.

“Pavithra Gowda being the second wife, that is utterly false. She is just a friend. They used to be co-stars and now they have a friendly relationship, nothing else. The only wife [of Darshan] is the first wife, Vijayalakshmi. No second marriage happened at any point of time,” Anil Babu was quoted as saying by India Today TV.

Babu added that Darshan had no links to Renukaswamy and was not implicated in the alleged murder. Regarding the CCTV footage showing Darshan's car near the crime scene, Babu clarified that the actor was not in the vehicle and that the police have not presented any evidence proving his presence there.

According to India Today, CCTV footage revealed a red Jeep owned by the actor at the murder site.

The footage showed the Jeep trailing a Scorpio car, which was allegedly used to dispose of the body. Both vehicles have been seized by the police.

Anil Babu said, "The first question is whether that car belongs to Darshan, that is yet to be established. Secondly, the police have to say that Darshan was present inside the car, that is the most important."

Anil Babu also denied police charges that Darshan tried to pay other people money to get rid of Renukaswamy's body and bury the matter for good.

"Darshan is not at all involved in this case. So, no question arises whether he paid anyone or how much was paid. He doesn't know anything about that matter," Babu was quoted as saying by India Today.

In a fresh development, two more people, Jagadish and Anukumar, were apprehended on Friday in relation to the Renukaswamy murder case.