Karthik’s statement came a day after BJP’s Deveraje Gowda accused him of sharing the videos with Congress leaders, including DK Shivakumar.
Karthik, the former driver of Prajwal Revanna.
Putting an end to the question on how Prajwal Revanna’s private videos — several of them showing alleged abuse of women — became public, the JD(S) MP’s driver confessed he handed it over to a BJP leader in Hassan.
Former driver of suspended JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna on Tuesday, 30 April, alleged that he had left the job almost a year ago following the physical and mental assault he and his wife had to face from the legislator’s family.
In a recorded video message sent to media houses before he deposed in front of an SIT formed to probe the matter, the driver said he didn’t give the pen drive to anyone except a BJP leader.
“My name is Karthik and my hometown is a village near Holenarsipura. I was a driver for Prajwal Revanna and his family for 15 years. I had left the job a year ago because my wife and I were physically and mentally assaulted and they forcefully snatched my land as well, he said in the video.
Karthik said that he handed over the videos that showed the alleged sexual assault incidents of Prajwal Revanna to BJP leader Deveraje Gowda to get justice for him and others who were part of it.
The videos have been doing rounds in Hassan since a couple of days ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka on 26 April. Following that, the state government formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the allegations.
Karthik also said that he had not given copies of the videos to anyone except Gowda.
He said that he approached Gowda and gave him the evidence seeking justice for him and his family but was betrayed by the BJP leader “who used the videos after he had “some fight between Revanna’s family”.
“Why will I give it to Congress when they (Revanna) are on great terms with Congress? Congress could have hidden all evidence and called me a liar, so why would I take that risk? I could not have trusted Congress with this information which is why I went to BJP leader Devaraje (Gowda). He also conned me,” Karthik said.
“I don’t know who shared the pen drive. To save himself, fake allegations are being made against me,” he added.
However, BJP leader from Hassan, Devaraje Gowda, has been claiming that Karthik had given the videos to some Congress leaders.
“His (Prajwal) car driver came to me one day in 2023. He said that his land was usurped by his boss. He also told me about Prajwal’s illegal activities. I asked him what evidence he had. He said he had evidence. He showed me the proof that was in his possession,” Gowda told reporters.
“I was shocked. I asked him if this video had been seen or been given to anybody. He said, yes he has given to the KPCC president DK Shivakumar and also to DK Suresh. I asked him what they told him. He was told they would see what to do and sent him away,” he claimed.
Karthik said that he would speak to the SIT soon.
Karthik said that after he shared the video with Gowda, Prajwal got an injunction order against him and added that he did not know how the latter came to know about the videos in his possession.
“Prajwal Revanna got an injunction order against me that I should not release any pictures or videos. I took the stay order copy and handed it to Devaraje. He explained to me that there was a stay order copy against me not to release any pictures or videos in my possession. I asked him how Revanna was aware of such videos in my procession. He said he didn’t know,” he said.
He also said that Gowda then took the videos from him assuring that he would submit it to the court. He said that Gowda did nothing after this but held a press conference saying he would expose the Deve Gowda family.
“He then sent a letter to BJP’s high command to block Prajwal Revanna from getting the ticket from Hassan,” Karthik said adding that he did not mind that because he was happy as long as he got justice.
”To save himself, fake allegations are being made against me. I have seen all who came to their house for 15 years. I have seen both the good and bad. To ensure others aren’t betrayed anymore, I called for a press meet. Another colleague of mine has also spoken to the media. I urge others affected to come forward and say their truth. I will appear before the SIT and submit all the documents before them. I believe that I will get justice,” Karthik said.
Alleging that Karthik shared the videos with Congress, Gowda claimed that he wrote to the BJP high command to save the women’s lives as the Congress could release it during elections.
“I felt the Congress has this with them and can release it during elections. If this comes out, many women’s lives will be destroyed. So, when I went to Delhi, I tried to mention to the PM’s team that there was some problem and requested a meeting with the PM,” he said.
“The alliance came in to keep Prajwal from going to jail. I got a message from the PM’s secretary that the (Deve) Gowda family has spoken ill about me and hence the PM will not listen to me now. In December, I wrote a letter to the state BJP chief and also met him. There was a communication gap and he (Prajwal) got the ticket,” Gowda said.
“Also, it was not the mistake of the BJP as JD(S), despite having the intelligence report, gave him the ticket,” he further said.
However, Karthik reiterated that he did not share the videos with anyone except Gowda.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil)
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