The Special Investigation Team (SIT) has carried out searches at multiple locations across Karnataka looking for Bhavani Revanna, mother of Hassan lawmaker and suspended Janata Dal (Secular) leader Prajwal Revanna, officials familiar with the matter said on Sunday.
The search operation was launched after Bhavani, who was issued a notice to appear for questioning in a woman kidnap case linked to the sexual abuse charges against her son, was not present at her residence at Holenarasipura in Hassan district on Saturday evening, officials said.
The SIT — probing the alleged sexual abuse charges against Prajwal, the grandson of JD(S) patriarch and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda — carried out searches in Mysuru, Hassan, Bengaluru, Mandya and Ramanagara, including visits to Bhavani’s relatives’ houses to track her, but she remained elusive. The SIT has constituted various teams to look for Bhavani, the officials said.
Meanwhile, state’s home minister G Parameshwara said Bhavani is “hiding somewhere” and will be arrested soon.
“They (SIT) are searching for her (Bhavani) to arrest her. It’s not known where she is. She will be arrested once she is found. It is a due process of law and nothing else,” he told reporters.
{{/usCountry}}“They (SIT) are searching for her (Bhavani) to arrest her. It’s not known where she is. She will be arrested once she is found. It is a due process of law and nothing else,” he told reporters.
{{/usCountry}}The SIT had issued a notice to Bhavani asking her to be present at her home on Saturday for questioning in the kidnap case linked to allegations of sexual abuse against her son. When an SIT team reached Bhavani’s house, ‘Chennambika Nilaya’, she was not present.
On Saturday evening, two women lawyers visited Bhavani’s house and met with SIT officials, though the purpose and details of the meeting remain undisclosed.
“Bhavani communicated through her legal representatives that she was unwell but intended to cooperate with the investigation soon,” a senior official said.
Bhavani’s husband and Holenarasipura JD(S) legislator HD Revanna is currently out on bail in the same case. A special court for elected representatives in Bengaluru denied the anticipatory bail application of Bhavani on Friday after the SIT opposed the plea.
The Revanna family has come under scrutiny following the emergence of a huge cache of explicit videos of several women being sexually assaulted allegedly by Prajwal on April 21.
Prajwal, who is seeking re-election from the Hassan Lok Sabha seat as an NDA candidate, had fled to Germany a day after the polling was held on April 26. Upon his return on Friday, Prajwal was arrested by the SIT at Bengaluru airport and remanded in police custody until June 6 by a special court in the city.
Prajwal also met with his advocate, Arun Kumar, for about an hour at the SIT office on Saturday evening.
According to an official from the SIT, Prajwal Revanna did not adequately respond to the SIT officials’ questions and repeatedly asked for clarification.
He said: “I don’t know the woman who complained against me. I am not aware of how many people work in our house, as there are workers in the farmhouse, town, and in our Bengaluru residence. I don’t know who is currently working at home.”
He also questioned the SIT officials about the identity of the complainant, saying, “I don’t know who she is. I have never seen her. I am staying in Bangalore, Hassan, and Delhi. I don’t know who she is or what she has complained about.”
He continued, “I don’t know what these allegations are. Why would I be involved in such actions? I don’t know who they are. This incident supposedly happened four years ago. Why didn’t they complain back then? What were they doing all this time without filing a complaint? I didn’t talk to anyone. I don’t know who they are.”
Prajwal suggested, “Driver Karthik is behind all this. Bring him in and interrogate him. Then you will get the correct answers. How much was he paid to bring this case forward? You’ll get all the answers then.”
Regarding his mobile phone, Prajwal said, “I only had the mobile that I use, and now you have seized it. Apart from that, I don’t have any other mobile. The SIT mentioned another mobile number related to this case. I don’t know where that phone is; it might have been lost. I did not use that mobile. My mobile is with my PA. They mentioned losing something and said a complaint could have been filed about it last year.”
Meanwhile, the SIT has requested the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to obtain access to tech giant Apple’s servers to obtain information regarding the case against the Hassan MP, officials said.
“Besides the victims’ statement, accessing the company’s servers is the only way to strengthen this case,” an official said, adding if the tech firm grants permission, it could provide crucial information in the case, including duration of videos, their location and timestamps.
However, Apple’s strict customer privacy policy may pose a challenge to the investigation. The official explained that Apple stores a wide range of data in iCloud, and accessing this data could verify the allegations against the MP.