Karnataka sex scandal: HD Revanna remanded in SIT custody till May 8

A Bengaluru court on Sunday (May 5) remanded senior JD(S) leader and party MLA HD Revanna in police custody till May 8 in connection with a case of alleged kidnapping and illegal confining of a woman.

Revanna, son of former prime minister and JD(S) patriarch HD Deve Gowda, was arrested on Saturday by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) after his anticipatory bail plea was rejected in the case.

The FIR was registered against 66-year-old Revanna based on a complaint by the woman’s son on Thursday.

Vile videos

After his medical examination at the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital in Bengaluru, the former minister was produced before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, who remanded him in the custody of the SIT.

The SIT was formed by the Karnataka government on the recommendation of the Karnataka State Commission for Women chief Nagalakshmi Chowdhary after hundreds of explicit videos of Revanna’s son, JD(S) MP from Hassan Prajwal Revanna, became public.

Prajwal Revanna (33), who is the BJP-JD(S) Hassan Lok Sabha candidate, faces rape and molestation charges.

Revanna’s denial

Before being produced before the magistrate, Revanna claimed there is no evidence of his involvement in the case based on the complaint against him registered on May 2.

“There is no evidence pertaining to the May 2 complaint. It’s a big political conspiracy... A conspiracy was hatched against me,” Revanna told reporters at the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital.

He also said there is no stain in his 40 years of political career.

Abduction complaint

In the abduction complaint against HD Revanna to the KR Nagar police, the 20-year-old son of the victim had alleged that the MLA’s close aide Sathish Babanna had taken his mother away on a motorcycle on April 29, saying the JD(S) leader wanted to see her.

The complainant stated that Babanna told him that if his mother “opened her mouth before the police”, she and her family members would be arrested.

Later, the 20-year-old complainant got to know from a friend and relative that his mother was among the women in the cache of videos that had gone public, and that it showed her being tied up and raped allegedly by Prajwal.

As the youth expressed fear that his mother was in danger, police arrested Sathish Babanna and rescued the victim from a farmhouse.

Three FIRs

There are three FIRs registered in connection with the sexual abuse allegations, involving the father and son, in total.

In the first case in Holenarasipura, the cook and relative of the Revannas complained that HD Revanna and his son Prajwal had molested her.

In the second complaint at CID Bengaluru, a JD(S) leader accused Prajwal of raping her at gunpoint, videographing the incident and then blackmailing her.

The third complaint is against HD Revanna pertaining to the abduction and illegal detention of a woman.

Prajwal still missing

Prajwal is abroad and a blue corner notice has been issued against him, according to the Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara. Interpol’s help is being taken to bring Prajwal back to India, the minister said.

A Blue Corner Notice is issued by the international police cooperation body to collect additional information from its member countries about a person’s identity, location or activities in relation to a crime.

There were reports that he might return to the country on Sunday night and security was tightened at Bengaluru airport. However, he is yet to be traced.

(With agency inputs)