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Suspended JD(S) leader Prajwal Revanna. (File image: News18)
The Hassan MP who had left the country on April 26, finally flew back into Bengaluru from Munich, Germany, and was arrested past midnight by the SIT at the Bengaluru international airport on May 31. He has so far been booked in three cases of sexual assault
Prajwal Revanna, the Karnataka MP accused in three rape cases, is now in police custody for six days. He has been taken into custody by the special investigation team (SIT) in the alleged rape case of an elderly woman who worked as a house help in the Revanna household.
The suspended Janata Dal (Secular) leader’s questioning will begin now onwards as the entire day (Friday) went in completing formalities like being produced in the special court for people’s representatives, medical check-up at the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital in Bengaluru before being taken to the SIT headquarters where he will be housed during the course of his police custody.
Additional special public prosecutor Ashok N Naik while laying his arguments in front of the court as to why the SIT was seeking 14 days’ custody for Prajwal stated that looking into the gravity of the case, there was also a big task in front of the SIT to investigate the complaints of several women against the accused.
“We sought custodial interrogation as there was a need to get into in-depth investigation including analysing material like tracing the thousands of women who may have been victims, tracking mobile data, vehicles that could have been used between Hassan and Bengaluru while committing crimes, investigate the places where the rape has happened. This would need time and so we sought 15 days’ custody, and the court granted us six days’ custody,” said Naik to News18 on what transpired in court.
Naik also added that the prosecution sees a larger conspiracy in the case where many victims of similar crimes have not come forward to the police as they live in fear.
In her complaint to the SIT, the victim mentions how she was sexually abused by both HD Revanna and Prajwal Revanna but was later raped by the latter in the Basavangudi residence of the leader. She also spoke of how she was molested by HD Revanna at their Holenarsipura residence on the pretext of offering her a fruit which was a prasad from a temple.
Prajwal has been arrested in this case by the SIT.
Apart from the rape charges, Prajwal has also been accused of video recording on his mobile phone the sexual acts with several women. Many of these video clips were circulated on pen drives in Hassan five days before polling in the Lok Sabha constituency from where Prajwal is seeking re-election.
Prajwal Revanna’s lawyer Arun G argued that the case was built on a complaint that was filed four years ago. He said that the complaint of the woman based on which the rape charges were filed against Prajwal was baseless and alleged that it was a “ready-made complaint” that’s as written by another person in Holenarsipura, and later produced by the police in Bengaluru.
Prajwal’s lawyer claimed that there was a “conspiracy” against the MP. He said the complaint letter of the woman who accused Prajwal of rape was first drafted in Hassan and was pre-meditated. Later a police official travelled to Bengaluru and filed it as a rape charge on her behalf. The counsel further argued that initially there was no mention of rape in the complaint by the woman but was later added by the police when she was brought to Bengaluru.
The defence also argued that since most of the investigation had been complete, one day of custody was necessary and Prajwal had voluntarily flown from Germany to cooperate in the investigation.
Prajwal pleaded in the court that he was not being provided with basic amenities and even the bathroom was not clean. He told the court that he had not been able to sleep and had to spend the night sitting on a chair.
The MP also sought the court’s direction to stop the “media trial” against him. The court said that the lawyers may move a separate plea for that. The police were directed to give the required medical facilities and allowed him to meet his lawyers between 9.30 am and 10.30 am every day.
Prajwal also requested the court to be allowed to watch the results on Lok Sabha counting day (June 4), which was ignored.
The Hassan MP who had left the country on April 26, finally flew back into Bengaluru from Munich, Germany, and was arrested past midnight by the SIT at the Bengaluru international airport on May 31.
The 33-year-old grandson of former prime minister HD Deve Gowda and the BJP-JD(S) alliance candidate from the Hassan Lok Sabha segment has so far been booked in three cases of sexual assault. A blue corner notice was issued by the Interpol following a request by the SIT and after the FIRs were filed by the victims against him. He returned a week after releasing a video message saying he would appear on May 31 before the SIT to cooperate with the inquiry.
Prajwal Revanna had also sought anticipatory bail before he arrived in India, but it was automatically rejected after the court ordered six days of police custody to question him as part of the investigation into the video recording scandal where several women were allegedly sexually abused or raped by the leader over a period of four years.
The petition of Bhavani Revanna, Prajwal’s mother, who moved a special court for anticipatory bail in a kidnapping case where her husband HD Revanna is also the accused, was rejected shortly after her son Prajwal was sent to six days’ police custody. The bail was rejected on the grounds that she was booked under section 120B of the IPC which amounts to criminal conspiracy and did not qualify for bail. The SIT had also sent her a notice stating it would question her at her residence in connection with the kidnapping case. HD Revanna, who was arrested on May 4 in the same kidnapping case, was released on bail after spending ten days in prison.
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