Suspended Janata Dal (Secular) leader Prajwal Revanna, who is facing sexual harassment charges, will likely return to India from Germany this week, officials in the Karnataka authorities said on Wednesday. According to the officials, Prajwal Revanna, the grandson of former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, may land in India on the adjoining night of May 3-4.
The development comes a day after a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is probing the case, issued a summons to Prajwal Revanna to appear before it for questioning. The probe agency also summoned Revanna's father, Holenarasipur MLA HD Revanna.
Earlier, the SIT had said failing to appear before the probe agency after the summons would make Revanna an “absconder”.
The controversy around Prajwal Revanna began after a series of obscene videos involving him began circulating in the Hassan district of Karnataka last week. The videos purportedly showed sexual acts by the 33-year-old leader with multiple women, sparking allegations of abuse and assault.
During the initial investigation, the officials found a pen drive containing 2,976 obscene videos - recorded from a mobile phone at the Revanna residences in Bengaluru and Hassan.
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Following this, an FIR was filed against Revanna and his father under sections 354A (sexual harassment), 354D (stalking), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 509 (outraging modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code - based on the complaint filed by a woman who worked at the Revanna residence between 2019 and 2022. The woman alleged that she was sexually abused during the years she worked at their home.
{{/usCountry}}Following this, an FIR was filed against Revanna and his father under sections 354A (sexual harassment), 354D (stalking), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 509 (outraging modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code - based on the complaint filed by a woman who worked at the Revanna residence between 2019 and 2022. The woman alleged that she was sexually abused during the years she worked at their home.
{{/usCountry}}Amid this, Revanna left the country for Germany on April 27, a day after the Lok Sabha elections in the state. His father, HD Revanna, told the media that his son would return “if he were called for an investigation”.
JD(S) suspends Prajwal Revanna
Despite the allegations, the Bharatiya Janata Party-JD(S) alliance had fielded Revanna as its Lok Sabha candidate from Hassan. However, as the controversy intensified, the JD(S) on Tuesday suspended Revanna and issued him a show-cause notice over the sexual abuse allegations.
“We welcome SIT against Prajwal Revanna. We have decided to recommend our party's national president to suspend him from the party till the SIT investigation is completed,” JD(S) core committee president GT Devegowda said at a media briefing.