Karnataka ex-MP Prajwal Revanna convicted for rape of domestic help
What's the story
Prajwal Revanna, a former Member of Parliament from Karnataka, has been convicted of raping a 47-year-old domestic help. The conviction is in one of the four rape cases filed against him after over 2,000 obscene video clips, allegedly depicting sexual abuse of various women, surfaced on social media. The special court for elected representatives had framed charges under several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Information Technology Act earlier this year.
Trial proceedings
Charges against Revanna
The charges against Revanna included IPC sections 376(2)(k), 376(2)(n), 354A, 354B, 354C, 506 and 201. The Information Technology Act's section 66E was also invoked for violation of privacy. Special public prosecutor Ashok Nayak revealed that the trial started on May 2 this year and took a total of 38 adjournments to complete.
Crime details
Prosecution examined 26 witnesses
The prosecution examined 26 witnesses during the trial and marked 180 documents as exhibits. In the domestic help case, Revanna was accused of raping the woman twice during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2021. The first incident took place at his family's Gannikada farmhouse in Hassan, while the second occurred at his residence in Basavanagudi, Bengaluru.
Victim's ordeal
Victim kidnapped to prevent her from testifying
The victim was later allegedly kidnapped on the orders of Revanna's parents, former Minister HD Revanna and Bhavani Revanna, to stop her from testifying against their son. She was rescued by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by Additional Director-General of Police (ADGP) BK Singh from a farmhouse in KR Nagar. The punishment for the rape will be announced on Saturday, August 2.
Arrest
Fled the country after videos surfaced
The grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda was arrested on May 31, 2024 by the Karnataka Police at Bengaluru airport. He had fled the country on April 27 after videos of him sexually abusing multiple women surfaced—a day after polling for the second phase of Lok Sabha elections. He failed to retain his Karnataka's Hassan parliamentary constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, and his party, the JD(S), also suspended him after cases were filed against him.