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Prajwal arrested on arrival, to be in SIT custody till Jun 6
Embattled Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna returns to India, arrested in connection with mass sexual abuse and rape allegations, sent to SIT custody till June 6.
Embattled Hassan parliamentarian Prajwal Revanna returned to India on Friday, 33 days after he left the country in the wake of allegations of mass sexual abuse and rape, and was arrested, produced in court and sent to six days in custody of a special investigation team (SIT) probing the charges.
The 33-year-old Prajwal, the grandson of Janata Dal (Secular) president and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, contested the Lok Sabha polls as the NDA candidate from the family bastion of Hassan in Karnataka but flew to Germany on April 27, a day after voting ended in the second phase of the general elections.
Prajwal arrived at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport a little past midnight on Friday, and was immediately detained by immigration officials and personnel of the Central Industrial Security Forces.
At 2.30am, he was handed over to SIT which is investigating at least four cases against Prajwal, including sexual abuse and rape. His father, HD Revanna, out on bail after spending three days in jail in connection with the same allegations.
Prajwal was subsequently taken to the office of the state police’s criminal investigation department. Escorting him out of the airport were five women police officers, headed by a superintendent of police.
“This was a deliberate decision to have women officers arrest Prajwal Revanna, highlighting how he misused his power as an MP to harm women,” a senior SIT official said, requesting anonymity.
In the week before elections in Hassan, a family pocket borough of the JD(S), pen drives containing videos of purported sexual acts by Prajwal with multiple women were circulated, immediately sparking allegations of mass sexual abuse.
Karnataka government officials said that the pen drives in Hassan contained 2,976 videos, some spanning a few seconds, and others a few minutes. Preliminary investigations suggested that most were shot from a mobile phone at the Revanna family residences in Bengaluru and Hassan from 2019, with several suggesting rape and the use of force.
Even as the JD(S) and the BJP — which fought the Karnataka elections in an alliance for the first time in their histories — scrambled to distance themselves from the incident, chief minister Siddaramaiah set up an SIT on April 28 to probe the charges. Days later, the JD(S) core committee suspended Prajwal until investigation into the allegations were completed.
On May 1, a first information report (FIR) was registered in the case, against both Prajwal and his father HD Revanna, based on a complaint by a 47-year-old woman who worked in their home in Holenarasipura and alleged abuse between 2019 and 2022.
The police registered a case under sections 354A (sexual harassment), 354D (stalking), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 509 (outraging modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code. Upon investigation, the charges of rape under Section 376 of the IPC were also added to the FIR. Since then, the SIT has registered three other cases of rape against Prajwal based on the complaints of three other victims that came forward.
On Friday morning, after spending the night in SIT custody, Prajwal was taken for a routine medical check up, and then produced before a special court, where the police sought 14 days of custody. To be sure, the SIT presented Prajwal before the magistrate in the first case of sexual abuse, and not the three other FIRs against him that carry charges under Section 376 (rape).
Prajwal’s laywer, Arun G, argued that the court should grant custody for one day because the MP surrendered willingly and was prepared to cooperate. He told the court that there was significant delay in the registration of the FIR, and grave sections of rape were only added to the case at a later stage. Special public prosecutor Ashok Naik, however, sought two weeks of police custody for Prajwal, calling the charges against him grave, and saying that the MP fled the country after the elections.
Eventually, the court ordered Prajwal to SIT custody till June 6, and allowed his lawyers to meet him for an hour everyday.
The return came four days after Prajwal broke his silence in a video statement from Germany, where he announced that he would present himself before the SIT on May 31, and apologised to his parents, grandfather, and party workers for his absence.
He said that he only learned about the case against him “three or four days” after he had left for Germany, and called the allegations “false”.
“I am here to inform everyone of my whereabouts. I have not run away. There is a political conspiracy against me, orchestrated by certain forces,” he said.
The external affairs ministry has already initiated action under the provisions of the Passports Act of 1967 to cancel his passport after receiving a formal letter from the Karnataka government on May 21.
Karnataka home minister G Parameshwara said that Prajwal’s return was driven by the fear of the cancellation of his passport, and that his return would help hasten investigations.
“A blue corner notice was issued against him, and procedures were followed. Knowing all of this, and thinking that if the Lok Sabha elections were to go against him, he could lose his diplomatic passport, he issued a statement that he will surrender. Now that he has come, it will help the SIT in investigations,” he said.
Parameshwara reiterated his request for other victims to come forward, and assured them of government protection. “We have always said that those who have been troubled by him should come forward and register complaints with the SIT and the police. We will provide them protection. We will have to wait and see further developments,” he said.
Former state minister and JD(S) core committee president GT Deve Gowda said that the arrest would not affect the party’s image. ”We had also welcomed the state government’s decision to form the SIT to probe the allegations, and the party suspended the accused soon after...No leader of the party is making any efforts to influence the investigation,” he said.
The party has already distanced itself from the incident and HD Deve Gowda earlier this week released a letter asking Prajwal to return or “face his anger”.
