A case has been filed against Karnataka MP Prajwal Revanna amid a row over explicit videos – allegedly showing the Hassan MP sexually assaulting multiple women.
The video clips, allegedly involving Prajwal Revanna, surfaced on social media days before Hassan voted on April 26 in Phase 2 of the elections.
Prajwal Revanna – grandson of JDS chief and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda – has, however denied the allegations and filed a complaint claiming that the videos being circulated are doctored.
The Karnataka government has formed a special investigation team (SIT) to look into the obscene videos case.
The decision to set up the SIT came after the state women’s commission recommended the Siddaramaiah government to take action.
What Is Prajwal Revanna Accused Of?
The scandal involves explicit videos that were allegedly shot by the MP and were circulated widely in the Hassan constituency.
This was followed up by a woman filing a police case against Prajwal Revanna, accusing him of sexual assault. She alleged she had been sexually abused multiple times between 2019 and 2022.
The complainant – Mr Revanna’s former house help – also claimed that Prajwal Revanna also misbehaved with her daughter over a video call and had “vulgar conversations” with her.
The woman alleged that Prajwal’s father HD Revanna also sexually assaulted her when his wife was not at home.
She also said that there is a threat to her life as well as other members of her family.
The Congress on X – formerly known as Twotter – posted that “a pen drive full of pornographic videos revealed that Prajwal Revanna sexually assaulted thousands of women and recorded objectionable videos of them”.
The clips show more women and they are likely to come forward to file cases too, sources have said.
Who Is Prajwal Revanna And What He Says
Prajwal Revanna is the grandson of former prime minister H D Devegowda.
Prajwal Revanna is the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate in the Hassan Lok Sabha constituency, where voting was held in the second phase on April 26. Janata Dal (Secular), or JD(S), joined the NDA in September last year.
The 33-year-old left for Germany Saturday morning, shortly after the videos emerged online.
He has filed a police complaint claiming the videos were doctored and they were being circulated to “tarnish his image and poison voters’ minds”.
Sex Scandal Sparks Political Row
The row has also snowballed into a political squabble between the JDS and the BJP.
The BJP has distanced itself from Prajwal Revanna amid the controversy around his purported sex tapes. “We, as a party, have nothing to do with the videos and neither do we have any comments to make on the SIT probe announced by the state government into the alleged sex scandal involving Prajwal Revanna,” BJP state spokesperson S Prakash said.
Prajwal Revanna ‘s uncle and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy said he would like to wait for the facts to come out of the investigation into the alleged scandal involving his nephew, but asserted that there is no question of forgiving anyone who has committed a crime
Party leader Sharangouda Kandkur, meanwhile, has demanded the suspension of Prajwal Revanna. In a two-page letter made public Monday morning, Mr Kandkur told HD Deve Gowda the JDS had been left “embarrassed by the circulating videos, and it damages the reputation of both you and your party,” he said.
The Congress, meanwhile, has hit out at the BJP, alleging that the party helped Prajwal Revanna flee the country amid row. Congress leaders and workers also staged a protest in Bengaluru demanding his immediate arrest.
