CHITRADURGA: The police team probing the Renukaswamy murder case has stumbled upon CCTV footage showing the suspected abduction of the victim by some associates of Kannada film star Darshan Thoogudeepa in this district headquarters town, sources said on Thursday.

The footage showed a man, believed to be Renukaswamy, chatting with someone inside the car and then getting into the vehicle, police sources said.

Police suspect that the 34-year-old pharmacy worker, a fan of Darshan, was "lured" to go with his abductors.

"He was then driven straight to Bengaluru where he was tortured to death," a police official said.

The 47-year-old actor, his close friend Pavithra Gowda and 13 of his associates have been arrested for the murder of Renukaswamy, whose body was found near a storm-water drain with multiple injury marks on June nine.

Sources said Darshan, popularly known as "Challenging Star", was furious with Renukaswamy after he sent obscene messages and images to the 33-year-old Gowda.