The Special Investigation Team (SIT) has booked JD(S) Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna for rape following a fresh complaint by a woman from Hassan alleging that Prajwal Revanna “coerced her into having sex”. Also, a second FIR was registered against his father HD Revanna, who was also named in the sexual harassment case, on charges of kidnap.
“She (the complainant) has alleged that Prajwal Revanna coerced her into having sex. We are keeping her identity secret as per norms. Unlike the previous FIR, the rape charges have been filed only against Prajwal Revanna,” said a senior police officer.
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The officer quoted above and aware of the developments said instead of filing a separate FIR on the second complaint they have decided to add rape section under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in the FIR lodged on April 28 against Prajwal.
Officials in SIT said that on Thursday night, a second FIR was registered against HD Revanna, father of Prajwal Revanna and an MLA, on charges of kidnap. The case was registered with KR Nagar police station. According to officials, the complaint has been lodged based on a complaint by the woman featured in the video, who alleged that she was kidnapped by Revanna.
A former house help at Prajwal’s residence on Hassan had filed a complaint on April 28 with Holenarasipur police station alleging sexual harassment by Prajwal and HD Revanna, the former state minister and elder son of Deve Gowda.
The officer, however, clarified that the rape charges have been registered only against Prajwal and not his father as the complaint was against the 31-year-old MP.
The details of the FIR emerged hours after Karnataka home minister G Parameshwara, in a press conference, revealed that two women had come forward to lodge a complaint.
In the first FIR, Prajwal Revanna was charged under sections 354A, 354D, 506, and 509 of the IPC for offences related to sexual harassment, intimidation, and violation of a woman’s dignity.
On Thursday, SIT authorities produced the woman in the first case before the magistrate and registered her statement under Section 164 of CrPC.
Parameshwara said on Thursday that a lookout circular has been issued to arrest the Hassan MP.
The minister said, “A lookout notice has been issued soon after it was learnt that Prajwal Revanna has gone abroad. We have informed all ports and airports about the lookout notice.”
The circular has been distributed to all immigration points across India to detain Prajwal Revanna upon his arrival at any airport, seaport, or border checkpost.
Prajwal Revanna, grandson of former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) supremo, HD Deve Gowda is facing charges of criminal intimidation, sexual harassment and stalking after thousands of videos emerged purportedly showing him in sexual acts with multiple women.
The incident has sparked a political controversy with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the Congress blaming each other. Activists and opposition parties have called for his arrest, his party has suspended him, and the BJP has distanced itself from the incident amid allegations that the alliance knew about his alleged crimes before nominating him this year.
Prajwal left for Germany on April 27, hours before a case was registered against him. He is slated to return on May 16.
After Revanna failed to comply with the summons from the Special Investigation Team (SIT) for questioning, with his advocate requesting seven days for his appearance, the police issued the lookout notice.
HD Revanna, also implicated in the sexual harassment case, has filed for anticipatory bail following a notice from the SIT. The appeal was filed at the sessions court in Bengaluru and the case has been adjourned for Thursday. On Thursday, HD Revanna, said, “I came to know that summons have been issued by the SIT. I am ready to face anything; I’m ready to face the SIT.”
Last week, in the run-up to the elections in Hassan, a JD(S) bastion, videos emerged that showed purported sexual acts by the 33-year-old parliamentarian, sparking allegations of abuse and assault.
Preliminary investigations showed that a pen drive that was circulated contained 2,976 videos, some a few seconds long and others that last a few minutes, most likely recorded from a mobile phone at the Revanna residences in Bengaluru and Hassan.
Meanwhile, JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar have exchanged war of words after the former accused Shivakumar and his brother, DK Suresh, of sending Karthik, the former driver of the Revanna family, to Malaysia.
“The driver’s video statement was released…where is he, Karthik? From where was it done (video statement) and released? Why was the video hurriedly made and given to news channels? Who gave it? He is in Malaysia,” Kumaraswamy said on Wednesday, as he targeted the “DK’’ brothers for accusing him of releasing the explicit video clips.
Reacting to Kumaraswamy’s allegations, Shivakumar on Thursday said, “Is it so? Did my brother say so? If my brother has said, my brother has all the information. Let him take information from the centre – who has sent (video), who has done all those things. Am I mad? I will fight on the street, but not by sending someone somewhere. I do not need to do such things, he (Kumaraswamy) may be in need of doing such things.”
“That boy (Karthik) has said he gave (a pen drive containing explicit video clips ) to BJP’s Devaraje Gowda. The advocate (Devraje) has said, he has regards for Kumaranna (Kumaraswamy) and Gowda (Deve Gowda), and he had met him and informed him (Kumaraswamy about clips). Who released the explicit clips is a different matter, let’s discuss it later, I’m ready for it. Let’s not deviate now (from the scandal),” he added.
The officials of the SIT said that they are in the process of contacting the women, who were allegedly seen in the videos. Teams have been deployed Hassan to collect statements from the women.
A senior officer, however, refused to comment if any women had given a statement in connection with the case.
