Key Points

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru on Tuesday, Home Minister Parameshwara said, "We have to take this development very seriously. Such incidents should not be repeated in the future. Today it has happened to actress Ramya; tomorrow, someone else might become a victim. We need to put a full stop to this. The Bengaluru Police Commissioner will take appropriate action."

"I have not issued any specific instructions. The police will take necessary action on their own. We have also taken note of the letter from the State Women’s Commission regarding this matter. Their letter will be responded to. I will also instruct the concerned authorities to ensure that such incidents do not occur again," Parameshwara added.

Ramya filed a complaint with Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh on Monday evening against actor Darshan’s fans for sending obscene and defamatory messages following her post on the fan murder case.

Darshan is the second accused in the case, and the Supreme Court has reserved its verdict on an appeal challenging the grant of bail to him.

Speaking to the media after filing the complaint, Ramya said, “I shared news about the Supreme Court's development regarding actor Darshan's bail petition to give hope to common people about justice. After that, the trolling began. I have filed this complaint as a voice for women.”

“I have lodged a complaint against 43 social media accounts. Some of them even threatened me with rape. If this can happen to me, what about others? Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh has assured me of action and has transferred the case to the Cyber Crime Wing. Women have the same freedom as men. Actor Darshan should have asked his fans not to post such messages,” she added.

“I don’t have any personal connection with actor Darshan. I had met him once at a wedding before the fan murder case. If he had warned his fans earlier, the deceased fan Renukaswamy might not have been killed. He was Darshan’s fan and likely wouldn’t have sent messages to Pavithra Gowda,” Ramya said. Pavithra Gowda, Darshan’s girlfriend, is the prime accused in the murder case.

In her complaint Ramya stated, "The disgruntled fans of actor Darshan (upset) by my act of sharing the news reporting the Supreme Court's proceedings, have sent scandalous, ghastly and obnoxious messages to my Instagram handle through various accounts. The messages sent to me are so disgusting and misogynistic that I am unable to even reproduce the same in the complaint."

Ramya is also a film producer and has acted in more than 40 movies in different languages in the lead role. She has acted as a heroine opposite superstars like Dhanush, Surya, late Puneeth Rajkumar and others.

Meanwhile, the organisation, Film Industry for Rights and Equality (FIRE), submitted a letter to Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara on Monday demanding immediate action against vulgar and misogynistic social media abuse targeting Ramya.

Reacting to the vulgar messages and videos posted by actor Darshan's fans against the Kannada actress, the Karnataka State Women’s Commission on Monday urged Bengaluru Police Commissioner Singh to take action in the matter.

- IANS