Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma and actor-politician Divya Spandana have shared their opinions on the arrest of popular Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa in connection with the murder of a man. They are the first celebs from the film industry to comment on the murder case. For the unversed, Darshan and his wife Pavitra Gowda were arrested by the Karnataka police for their alleged role in the murder of a man in Bengaluru.

Reacting to Darshan’s arrest, RGV wrote, “A star using one of his die-hard fans to beat up another die-hard fan who was interfering in his personal life is an apt example of the weirdness of star worship syndrome…Fans dictating how their stars live their lives is an inevitable side effect of the same syndrome.”

Actress-politician Divya Spandana praised the promptness of the Karnataka police in the case and wrote, “Police in Karnataka (with multiple salute emojis).”

Darshan and his wife were picked up from their farmhouse in Mysore and brought back to Bengaluru for questioning. The victim, Renuka Swamy, aged 33, was found dead on the Sumanahalli Bridge in Bengaluru. She worked at the Apollo Pharmacy branch in Chitradurga and had allegedly sent abusive messages to Darshan’s wife.

Three men have confessed to the murder and said they committed the crime on the instructions of actor Darshan.

“Darshan beat Renukaswamy with a belt. When he fell unconscious, his companions thrashed him with sticks. Besides, they threw him against the wall, which proved fatal as several of his bones were broken,” the police told news agency PTI.

It is being investigated whether the actor was directly involved in the murder or was part of a conspiracy.