Former U.S. President Trump speaks to members of the media after a jury found him guilty of all 34 felony counts in his criminal trial at New York State Supreme Court in New York.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

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SIT arrests Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna at Bengaluru airport after his return from Germany

Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, who is facing charges of sexually abusing several women, was arrested by the SIT probing the case, minutes after he landed in Bengaluru from Germany around 12.30 a.m. on May 31..

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Bengaluru:

Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, who is accused of sexually assaulting multiple women, has been arrested after his flight from Germany’s Munich landed at the Bengaluru airport in the early hours of Friday.

The Janata Dal (Secular) leader, who is also the candidate from the Hassan Lok Sabha seat, had left for Germany on April 27, a day after polling in his constituency. Videos allegedly showing him sexually assaulting the women had surfaced the same day.

Mr Revanna, who is the grandson of former prime minister HD Deve Gowda and nephew of former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, was aboard Lufthansa flight LH0764, which landed at the Kempegowda International Airport.

The JDS leader was handed over to police officials waiting at the airport and sources said he will be taken to the Crime Investigation Department (CID) office, where he will spend the night in the custody of the Special Investigation Team probing the case.

A medical test will be conducted and he has to be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours.

The anticipatory bail petition filed by Mr Revanna, which will now turn into a regular bail plea, is also scheduled to be heard today. The verdict on the anticipatory bail plea of his mother, Bhavani Revanna, is also expected today.

Prajwal Revanna, grandson of JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda, is accused in an alleged rape and sexual harassment case involving a 47-year-old woman. File.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

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New Delhi:

Karnataka lawmaker Prajwal Revanna – who fled to Germany last month, shortly after horrific sex crimes allegations by women who said he forced them into sexual acts – released a statement Monday, claiming comments and “political drama” by opposition leaders, including Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, “drove me to depression and I was pushed into isolation”. 

“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),” Revanna 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…”

On May 1, four days after he fled the country, Revanna posted a message on X. He said, “I am not in Bengaluru… I have communicated (to the police) through my lawyer. The truth will prevail soon.”

Revanna is a Janata Dal (Secular) leader and the grandson of party patriarch and ex-Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, and nephew of senior leader and ex-Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy.

He is also the sitting MP from Karnataka’s Hassan Lok Sabha seat, which he has been nominated to defend in the 2024 general election. The JDS is allied with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP.

Revanna’s message – his first public comment on charges against him – comes after a warning from Deve Gowda, who told his grandson to return home and surrender “or face your family’s anger”.

READ | “Surrender Or Face My Anger”: Deve Gowda To Grandson Revanna

Deve Gowda said he had warned Revanna to “not test my patience” and that it took him time to recover from the “shock and pain”. The former Prime Minister – targeted by the ruling Congress, former allies turned political rivals, over claims it was he sent Revanna abroad – stressed he had called for “the harshest punishment under the law” for his grandson “if (he is) found guilty…”

I have issued a warning to @iPrajwalRevanna to return immediately from wherever he is and subject himself to the legal process. He should not test my patience any further. pic.twitter.com/kCMuNJOvAo

— H D Deve Gowda (@H_D_Devegowda) May 23, 2024

Revanna’s uncle, HD Kumaraswamy, has also made an appeal.

READ | “If You Have Respect…”: HD Kumaraswamy’s Appeal To Revanna

The ex-Chief Minister last week also appealed to his nephew. “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.

READ | Deve Gowda Sent Grandson Abroad: Siddaramaiah On Ex-PM’s Letter

Revanna’s return home may be complicated by the fact the Ministry of External Affairs is set to cancel his diplomatic passport. A request to this effect has been made by the state government.

The centre is in the process of cancelling the travel document, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said. Mr Jaishankar also took the chance for a jibe against Karnataka’s ruling Congress, declaring the request to cancel the passport was made only on May 21, several days after the scandal broke.

NDTV Analysis | Systemic Failure In Not Forcing Revanna To Face Law

The Congress and the BJP have attacked each other over the Revanna case.

The former has pointed to the alliance between the BJP and the JDS to claim Prajwal Revanna is being shielded, while the latter has criticised the state government for delayed reactions.

Prajwal Revanna – who faces an arrest warrant from a MP/MLA court – has denied all charges.

Bengaluru:

A special court for MPs and MLAs in Bengaluru has issued an arrest warrant against JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna in the sexual assault case.

The court issued the warrant in connection with the sexual assault case registered against Prajwal on Saturday in which his father and Holenarasipura MLA H D Revanna is also an accused.

Revanna, son of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, is on bail after spending seven days in jail after four-day police custody for allegedly kidnapping a woman.

There are three cases of sexual assault registered by three women against Prajwal, the NDA’s Hassan Lok Sabha candidate who is at large.

A blue corner notice has been issued against him by the Interpol.

Trouble started for Prajwal after large number of explicit videos showing women being sexually assaulted allegedly by him became public.

Subsequently, the Karnataka government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on the recommendations of Karnataka State Commission for Women chairperson Nagalakshmi Chowdhary to probe Prajwal’s alleged atrocities on women.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)