Apr 30, 2024 02:26 PM IST
Karthik, a former driver of the Revanna family said he approached Devaraje Gowda with the videos to seek justice for the women abused by Prajwal Revanna
BENGALURU: Karthik, a former driver of the Revanna family, on Tuesday, denied that he shared the pen drive containing the videos showing purported sexual acts by suspended Janata Dal (Secular) leader Prajwal Revanna with the Congress, asserting that he had only given the videos to Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devaraje Gowda.
In a video statement, Kartik said he had approached Devaraje Gowda to seek justice for the women allegedly abused by Prajwal Revanna – the grandson of JD (S) president and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda – after the Revanna family forced him to transfer a parcel of land that he owned to their name.
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Karthik’s video statement is a rebuttal to BJP’s Devaraje Gowda who said on Monday that Karthik leaked the videos to the Congress. Karthik insisted that he was not part of the decision to share the videos with anyone else apart from the BJP leader.
Also Read: Prajwal Revanna ‘sexual abuse’ rocks NDA Karnataka push
“I don’t know whether he (Gowda) distributed the pen drive or gave it to someone else for the purpose, or if BJP people did it. But I did not give the pen drive to anyone else except him. Now, he is blaming me for giving it to Congress leaders. If I were to give it to Congress leaders, why would I approach him for justice,” Karthik said.
Karthik also said that he would appear before the special investigation team on Monday and submit all documents.
The videos first emerged a week before the Lok Sabha constituency of Hassan, a family pocket borough of the JD(S) founder, went to the polls in the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections on April 26. The pen drive showed purported sexual acts by Prajwal Revanna with multiple women, amid allegations of mass abuse.
On Saturday, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah set up a SIT to probe the charges, following a request from the Karnataka State Women’s Commission.
On Sunday, the first FIR was registered in the case, against both Prajwal Revanna and his father HD Revanna, based on a complaint by a woman who used to work in their home and alleged sexual abuse between 2019 and 2022.
Government officials have said that the pen drive circulated in Hassan had 2,976 videos, some a few seconds long, and some that last a few minutes. Preliminary investigations have suggested that most were shot from a mobile phone at their residences in Bengaluru and Hassan after 2019.
On Tuesday, the Janata Dal (Secular) core committee welcomed the probe and decided to recommend the suspension of Prajwal Revanna by party president HD Deve Gowda in a damage control exercise against the backdrop of fierce attacks on the JD(S) and its alliance partner, the BJP.
Devaraje Gowda, who was the BJP’s defeated candidate in the 2019 election, warned the BJP state leadership about allegations that Prajwal Revanna was sexually abusing women months before his name was announced as the National Democratic Alliance candidate for Hassan. Devaraje Gowda said he had written to state party chief B Y Vijayendra to bring this information to the attention of national leaders.
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Arun Dev is an Assistant Editor with the Karnataka bureau of Hindustan Times. A journalist for over 10 years, he has written extensively on crime and politics.
