BENGALURU: The firestorm of abuse
allegations
around the Revanna family flared Friday with JD(S) MPPrajwal Revanna being booked for allegedly raping a 44-year-old former panchayat member at gun-point after threats to kill her husband. Separately, a
kidnapping
case was filed against Prajwal’s father,
MLA HD Revanna
, after a woman purportedly featured in one of the MP’s sleaze videos went missing.
The claims have taken the number of FIRs against the Revannas to three. This includes one in which the father-son are accused of sexually harassing and stalking a former woman employee of their household.
The former panchayat member lodged her complaint on May 1, making it the first in which
Hassan MP
Prajwal has been charged with
rape
under IPC Section 376. The woman’s husband is a former aide of Prajwal.
She told police she often took up people’s issues with MLAs and MPs. In 2021, she approached Prajwal at his MP’s quarters in Hassan for help in getting hostels for college students.
According to her complaint, since there were people on the ground-floor hall, she was directed to first floor by the staff, who informed her Prajwal would meet her there. Later, the MP allegedly took her into his bedroom and locked the door. The woman claimed that when she objected, Prajwal told her that because of her husband, the MP’s mother (Bhavani) didn’t get a JD(S) assembly ticket. He asked her to warn her husband to “talk less”.
Later, Prajwal asked the ex-panchayat member to meet his physical needs if her husband “was to grow politically”, she claimed. “As I refused, he said he had a gun and would not spare me and my husband, and raped me. He recorded the act on his mobile and threatened to leak the videos if I revealed the incident,” she said. She added that Prajwal allegedly made multiple videos and raped her many times.
Other than rape, Prajwal has been booked under IPC Sections 376 (2) (N) (raping the same woman repeatedly), 354 A (1) (
sexual harassment
), 354B (assault or use of criminal force to a woman with intent to disrobe), 354 C (voyeurism), besides offences under the Information Technology (IT) Act.
In the other
FIR
about alleged kidnapping, the case was filed late Thursday in Mysuru by the son of a woman purportedly seen in the sleaze videos allegedly involving Prajwal. According to him, Prajwal’s father Revanna and an aide, Satish Babanna, abducted his mother on April 29 and kept her in confinement. Babanna has been arrested.
Revanna is named as accused no. 1 and Babanna as accused no. 2. They have been booked under IPC Sections 365 (kidnapping with intent to secretly and wrongfully confine a person) and 364 (kidnapping for ransom).
