- By Mayukh Debnath
- Sun, 28 Apr 2024 11:55 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Prajwal Revanna Case: Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda's son and grandson, serving Holenarasipur MLA HD Revanna and sitting Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna respectively, were booked by the police in Karnataka's Hassan district on Sunday after a woman accused them of sexual harrassment, news agency PTI reported. This comes amidst the controversy pertaining to the circulation of several video clips wherein Prajwal, an incumbent Janata Dal (Secular) parliamentarian, can purportedly be seen engaging in sexual activities with multiple women.
The FIR against Prajwal and Revanna was filed a day after a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was announced to probe the JD(S) MP's alleged involvement in the creation of the video clips. The victim has reportedly alleged that she was sexually exploited by the accused multiple times between 2019 and 2022. Prajwal is said to have left the country. He was seeking re-election from the Hassan Lok Sabha seat, where voting for the ongoing general polls took place on Friday (April 26). Prajwal has refuted his involvement in the sex scandal and claimed that the videos were "morphed" to tarnish his image ahead of the elections.
He contested the Hassan seat under the banner of the country's ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which was joined by the JD(S) in September last year. Both the BJP and former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, who is also Prajwal's uncle, distanced themselves from the matter. Notably, the circulation of the obscene video clips came to light following the conclusion of the second and latest round of voting for the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
Prajwal Revanna Case Updates
• The alleged sexual harassment victim is a relative of Revanna's wife Bhavani, PTI said in its report.
• The complainant was reportedly employed as a cook at the family's residence.
• IPS officer Vijay Kumar Singh has been appointed the head of the three-member SIT formed by the Congress-led Karnataka government. The remaining members of the probe team are Director General-CID Suman D Pennekar and IPS officer Seema Latkar.
• Amid the controversy, the BJP, which is an ally of JD(S) in Karnataka, also distanced itself from the issue.
"We, as a party, have nothing to do with the videos and neither do we have any comments to make on the SIT probe announced by the state government into the alleged sex scandal involving Prajwal Revanna," S Prakash, the chief spokesperson of BJP's Karnataka unit stated.
• Welcoming the SIT probe, JD(S) core committee chairman and senior leader GT Devegowda said the party would convene a meeting to discuss action on the issue.
"I don't blame the government for announcing the SIT investigation. We will sit and decide what action needs to be taken over the issue of Prajwal Revanna. For now, I will just say that I welcome the SIT investigation," the JD(S) leader was quoted as saying by ANI.
• On Saturday, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah informed that his government has decided to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into the sleaze tapes allegedly involving Revanna.
"The government has decided to form a special investigation team in connection with Prajwal Revanna's obscene video case. Obscene video clips are circulating in Hassan district, where it appears that women have been sexually assaulted," Siddaramaiah said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
(With inputs from ANI)