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SIT arrest HD Revanna from Deve Gowda’s Bengaluru home in woman’s kidnap case
The arrest followed the rescue of a woman -- allegedly sexually assaulted by HD Revanna’s son and JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna -- who was allegedly kidnapped on Revanna’s orders
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Saturday arrested Janata Dal –Secular (JD-S) MLA, HD Revanna, in connection with a sexual assault and kidnapping case from the Bengaluru residence of his father and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda on Saturday evening.
The arrest followed the rescue of a woman -- allegedly sexually assaulted by Revanna’s son and JD-S member of Parliament (MP) Prajwal Revanna -- who was allegedly kidnapped on Revanna’s orders. Earlier in the day, the special court of people’s representatives in Bengaluru rejected HD Revanna’s anticipatory bail plea related to the abduction case.
HD Revanna was taken into custody around 6.45pm from Deve Gowda’s residence in Bengaluru, where he was allegedly hiding. According to an SIT official, a team reached the house based on information about his whereabouts. “Initially, he didn’t respond to the calls, and when the team decided to enter the house to arrest him, he came out, surrendering to the police,” the official said.
However, his son Prajwal Revanna is still at large. Prajwal has been accused of sexually assaulting multiple women.
On April 28, a 47-year-old woman filed a complaint against Prajwal Revanna and HD Revanna, accusing them of sexually harassing her and her daughter, who worked as a domestic worker in their house. According to the complaint, both Revanna and Prajwal sexually harassed the women workers in their house under various pretexts. Prajwal allegedly used to video call the woman’s daughter when she was at home and harass her using foul language.
On Friday, another complaint was lodged with KR Nagar police station in Mysuru, where a 20-year-old man alleged that his mother had gone missing after being taken away by an individual close to the Revanna family. The complainant alleged that Satish Babanna, acting under the directives of HD Revanna, took his mother away and she has been missing since then. The woman, in her 60s, was seen in one of the leaked videos pleading not to be assaulted and she went missing on April 29. She is a key witness in the case and at least five special teams were formed to find her.
On Saturday, more than five days after she was allegedly kidnapped, the SIT tracked the kidnapped woman to the farmhouse of Rajashekar, the personal assistant of HD Revanna, at Kalenahalli village in Mysuru district, said an SIT official. “The woman will be brought to Bengaluru, where her statement will be recorded,” the official added.
Hours later, a special court of people’s representatives in Bengaluru denied anticipatory bail to HD Revanna in connection with the FIR related to the abduction.
Judge Santosh Gajanana Bhat of the special court of ‘inquiry of criminal cases against legislators-members of Parliament’ issued the order at 6.23pm, following a hearing scheduled from 3pm to 4.30pm.
During the proceedings, Murthy D Nayak, a senior advocate of the high court, representing Revanna, argued that bail should be granted to the petitioner. He told the court about the need for protection, highlighting concerns about potential arrest due to the actions of the Special Investigation Team (SIT).
In response, the special prosecutor for the case, BN Jagadish, opposed the bail request, citing the seriousness of the accusations and the condition of the abducted woman. “We have heard of woman kidnapping cases reported from the northern parts of the country; it should not happen in the state, especially considering the widespread circulation of the victim’s images and videos on social media,” he argued.
Taking these arguments into account, the judge rejected the application for anticipatory bail and posted it for the next hearing on May 6.
The arrest also comes after chief minister Siddaramaiah held a meeting with SIT officials. Earlier in the day, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi wrote a letter to the chief minister over Prajwal Revanna’s sex scandal case, requesting him to extend all possible support to the survivors and take strict action against those who committed such a heinous crime.
“I request you to kindly extend all possible support to the victims. We have a collective duty to ensure that all parties responsible for these heinous crimes are brought to book,” said Rahul Gandhi in the letter to Karnataka CM.
(With inputs from Coovercolly Indresh)
