Sexual abuse case: Bengaluru court remands Prajwal Revanna to judicial custody till 24 June

He had left for Germany on 27 April, a day after Hassan went to the polls. A ‘Blue Corner Notice’ seeking information on his whereabouts had earlier been issued by Interpol, following a request by the SIT via the CBI.

Also Read: Karnataka HC grants Bhavani Revanna anticipatory bail in kidnapping case

Sexual abuse case against Prajwal

Prajwal was arrested in a case registered against him in Holenarasipura in Hassan district on 28 April. He was accused of sexually harassing a 47-year-old former maid.

A Special Court for Elected Representatives issued an arrest warrant against him on 18 May, following an application moved by the SIT.

He is listed as accused number two, while his father Revanna, is the primary accused. Revanna is also accused of sexually harassing the cook at his house.

Prajwal has been booked in three cases of sexual assault. There are also charges of rape against him.

The cases of sexual abuse came to light after pen drives containing explicit videos allegedly involving Prajwal were reportedly circulated in Hassan, ahead of Lok Sabha polls there on 26 April.

The Karnataka government formed the SIT to probe the cases against Prajwal on the recommendation of the Karnataka State Commission for Women chairperson Nagalakshmi Chowdhary, who wrote to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to investigate the matter.

As the videos of the assault went viral, Prajwal fled the country on his diplomatic passport to Germany. Subsequently, he was suspended from JD(S).

On his return from Germany on 30 May, the SIT arrested Prajwal at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru.

In a symbolic gesture meant to give confidence to victims of his alleged crimes, an all-women team of police personnel escorted Prajwal Revanna from the airport where he was detained.

They were led by two IPS officers, Suman D Pennekar and Seema Latkar. The incumbent Hassan MP was then taken in a jeep in which only women police were there. They took him to the CID office for interrogation.

Also Read: NDA candidate Prajwal Revanna, accused of sexual abuse, loses in Hassan

The case against Prajwal’s mother

Bhavani Revanna, Prajwal’s mother, is also facing charges of kidnapping a woman from KR Nagar, who was later allegedly sexually abused by her son.

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday, 18 June, granted Bhavani anticipatory bail in the case and refrained her from entering Mysuru and Hassan districts.

According to the Bar and Bench, Justice Krishna S Dixit pronounced the order on Tuesday morning, when he also urged that there should not be any media trial of the case and said that unnecessary arrests of women should be avoided.

The judge further emphasised that “A woman should not be unnecessarily arrested in criminal cases, more so since in India, they are the ‘hub’ of the family.”

After the explicit videos showing women being sexually abused allegedly by Prajwal came out in the open, the victim from KR Nagar in Mysuru was abducted by Revanna’s confidant.

The case was registered on a complaint lodged by the 20-year-old son of the victim. The complainant also said that his mother figured in the video where she was tied and raped allegedly by Prajwal.

Meanwhile, the SIT has detained Bhavani’s car driver in connection with the kidnapping case, sources said.

(Edited by Shauqueen Mizaj, with PTI inputs)

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