Bhavani Revanna’s husband was arrested for allegedly kidnapping a woman (File)
Bengaluru:
Bhavani Revanna, the mother of Karnataka lawmaker Prajwal Revanna – who fled to Germany last month shortly after allegations of sex crimes, has applied for anticipatory bail under the Code of Criminal Procedure in a kidnapping case in which her husband was earlier arrested.
Her husband – Karnataka MLA HD Revanna – was arrested earlier this month for allegedly kidnapping a domestic help on April 29.
The woman allegedly kidnapped by HD Revanna used to work in their home and was allegedly raped by his son, Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna.
The woman’s son filed an FIR against Mr Revanna, 66, based on which he was arrested.
HD Revanna, the son of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, was subsequently sent to the custody of the Special Investigation Team, or SIT, which is probing the allegations of sex crimes against his son, and later remanded in judicial custody.
He was released on bail by a local court on May 14.
Today, Prajwal Revanna released a statement saying he would surrender before the police on Friday. In the statement, he blamed the Opposition for ‘pushing him into isolation’.
The comments and “political drama” by Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, “drove me to depression and I was pushed into isolation”, he said.
“I apologise to my parents… I was in depression. I will come (back to India) and appear before the SIT (a special investigative team set up by the state government) on May 31 (Friday),” he said.
“I will cooperate to the best of my abilities and provide all answers. I have full faith in the legal system (and) I will come out of these false cases against me. I have the blessings of God and my family…”
His first public comment on charges against him came after a warning from his grandfather HD Deve Gowda, who asked him to return home and surrender “or face your family’s anger”.
In a post on X, Deve Gowda said he warned Prajwal Revanna to “return immediately from wherever he is and subject himself to the legal process”. Mr Deve Gowda told his grandson to “not test my patience any further,” the former PM wrote on X.
Prjwal Revanna’s uncle, HD Kumaraswamy, has also appealed to his nephew to “come back”. “I have openly appealed to him… told him, ‘if you have respect for the party and Deve Gowda, come back…’ Cooperate with the probe. If you have not done anything prove it. If you have, then face the punishment,” Revanna was told, Mr Kumaraswamy said.
Prajwal Revanna is the sitting MP from Karnataka’s Hassan, which he has been nominated to defend in the ongoing elections. The JDS is allied with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP.
