NSUI members hold a poster of JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna during a protest in Bengaluru on April 30, 2024.

The story so far: Amid a political storm in Karnataka over grave allegations of sexual abuse against Prajwal Revanna, sitting Hassan MP and grandson of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, Interpol has issued a Blue Corner notice against the absconding politician. Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara on May 5 said that the Special Investigation Team probing the case will take Interpol’s help to bring Mr. Revanna back to India.

The MP has been on the run since late last month following the leak of thousands of explicit video clips that allegedly show the 33-year-old sexually abusing multiple women, prompting the Janata Dal (Secular) to suspend him. He is seeking re-election from the Hassan constituency in Karnataka as a candidate of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the 2024 general elections. 

The Karnataka Police have charged him with rape, sexual harassment, and criminal intimidation. His father and JD(S) MLA, H.D. Revanna, is under arrest in an abduction case, where an alleged victim of sexual abuse by his son was kidnapped on April 29.

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What does Interpol do, and how does it alert countries?

The International Criminal Police Organisation, commonly known as Interpol, is an inter-governmental law enforcement organisation which assists and facilitates cooperation between national law forces in 196 member countries to combat transnational crimes. 

The organisation shares information regarding crimes and wanted criminals globally, and provides technical, operational, and investigative support to locate fugitives. It manages a database of critical data about wanted criminals, which member countries can use to trace such individuals.

The agency has a National Central Bureau in all member countries, which is a single point of contact between law enforcement agencies of that country and Interpol. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is officially designated as the nodal agency for India. 

The agency uses a ‘colour-coded’ system to alert and share requests for crime-related information among member countries and global organisations such as the United Nations, the International Criminal Tribunals and the International Criminal Court (related to sanctions, genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity). Notably, member countries are not bound by international law to abide by Interpol notices as they are entirely discretionary.

Interpol’s notice system currently has eight types of notices. The most common one, the ‘red’ notice, is used to alert member countries about the location and arrest of a person wanted for prosecution or to serve a sentence in serious cases. Yellow Corner notices are global alerts for a missing person. Such notices are often published for victims of parental abductions, kidnappings or unexplained disappearances.

A ‘black’ notice is issued for seeking information on unidentified bodies. The agency may warn about a possible threat to public safety via a ‘green’ notice. If a person, an object, or an event poses a serious and imminent threat to safety, an ‘orange’ notice is used. To seek or provide information on modus operandi, objects, devices and concealment methods used by criminals, Interpol issues ‘purple’ notice. The ‘INTERPPOL-United Nations Security Council Special Notice’ is issued for entities and individuals who are the targets of the UN Security Council Sanctions Committees.

Editorial |Sexual crimes and videos: On the Prajwal Revanna case in Karnataka 

Why did Interpol issue a Blue Corner notice against Prajwal Revanna?

The international organisation issues a ‘Blue Corner’ notice when the case is related to missing persons. Also called an “enquiry notice,” such an alert is sent for additional information from member States about a person, to verify their identity, location, or criminal record concerning a criminal investigation. 

It is different from a Red Corner notice, considering that the purpose of a ‘blue’ notice is information about a person of interest in an investigation, while the former is generally issued against a person wanted for extradition, or serve a sentence based on a court decision, or a similar lawful action.

In 2020, Interpol issued a Blue Corner Notice against self-styled godman Nithyananda, seeking information about his location after he was accused of rape.

As for the sexual assault case against Mr. Revanna, Interpol issued a Blue Corner notice against the Hassan MP after the SIT formed by the Karnataka government sought the help of the CBI for further inquiry. The SIT first issued a look-out circular against Mr. Revanna after he failed to appear before the panel as nearly 3,000 explicit clips allegedly involving him sexually abusing women were widely circulated among voters.

The request came days after the Hassan MP remained untraceable. As per reports, the MP left for Munich, Germany using his diplomatic passport a day after his constituency went to the polls in the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections on April 26, and hours before the SIT was constituted. Mr. Revanna’s advocate sought seven days for his client to present himself before the panel.

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The investigating team, however, ruled out the possibility and moved for a Blue Corner alert against Mr. Revanna, considering that the investigation is in the early stages and the police are yet to file criminal charges. The SIT officials told Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah that they intend to arrest the accused Prajwal Revanna to expedite the investigation as soon as they receive information about his whereabouts.

Janata Dal Secular leader Prajwal Revanna — accused of raping multiple women — will return within a week and cooperate with the investigation, his lawyer Arun G told NDTV in an exclusive interview today. The grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and the MP from family turf Hassan, has left the country after the videos surfaced on social media, triggering a huge row in the middle of the general election.

Asserting there was no rape, his  lawyer said he has not gone through the videos, which have prompted the state women’s commission chief Nagalakshmi Choudhary to call it the “biggest scandal of the country” After going through the videos, she had said they appeared to be of non-consensual sexual act.

“She’s holding a certain position and she has certain powers. She has certain duties… Let her do her job, and we will do our job,” Arun G told NDTV.

But there was a caveat. Drawing such an inference — “I feel it is incorrect,” he said.  “The other thing is that when she says that she has seen that, at least my client and myself, we do not have the benefit,” he added.

The lawyer said as of now, they have been given access to the First Information Report and will go through whatever evidence is made available to them.

The police case against Mr Revanna was filed on the complaint of a woman who claimed she had been abused for years by the MP and his father, HD Revanna.

The matter has also morphed into a huge political row, with the BJP in alliance with Mr Devegowda’s Janata Dal Secular in Karnataka.

The state leaders of the BJP have distanced themselves from the matter and the Hassan MP has been suspended by his party. His uncle and party chief HD Kumaraswamy has said there could be no question of forgiving anyone who has committed a crime.

Bengaluru:

The Chairperson of the Karnataka State Commission for Women, Nagalakshmi Choudhary, stated that the ‘obscene videos’ case involving JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna is the biggest scandal of the country.

She said that the pen drive she received contained hundreds of explicit videos, some of which purportedly show Prajwal Revanna.

“I wrote to CM and SIT was constituted. The pen drive that I have received has hundreds of videos. In a few videos, it is visible that the person is Prajwal Revanna. I will be writing this to the National Women’s Commission. I mean, it’s the biggest scandal in India,” Ms Choudhary said.

Ms Choudhary stated that she has taken the matter to the Chief Minister of Karnataka, resulting in the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the case.

She stressed the need for victims to feel safe when coming forward with their complaints

“The SIT has started its investigation. And the team has got very efficient officials. So for me, the concern is the protection of the victims, so that they can freely come and lodge the complaint,” Ms Choudhary said.

Prajwal Revanna was booked in a sexual harassment case on Sunday following complaints by his former house help. A FIR has been filed against Prajwal Revanna, his father and JD (S) leader HD Revanna in connection with the case.

The case has been registered under sections 354A, 354D, 506, and 509 of the IPC on charges of sexual harassment, intimidation and outraging the dignity of a woman.

A FIR has been filed against Prajwal Revanna, his father and JD (S) leader HD Revanna in connection with the case. The case has been registered under sections 354A, 354D, 506, and 509 of the IPC on charges of sexual harassment, intimidation and outraging the dignity of a woman.

As per the complaint, the victim has claimed that both HD Revanna and Prajwal Revanna sexually assaulted her. The complainant further claimed that when Revanna’s wife was not home, he touched her inappropriately and used to sexually assault her.

The complainant also claimed that Prajwal Revanna behaved rudely to her and also misbehaved with her daughter over a video call.”My daughter blocked his number after repeated calls,” the complainant said.

Earlier, on April 25, the chairperson of the state women’s panel requested CM Siddaramaiah to order an SIT probe into the obscene clips, allegedly involving the JD(S) MP, circulating on social media.

After the request, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah informed on April 28 that the state government has decided to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) in connection with Prajwal Revanna’s alleged obscene video case in Hassan district.

The BJP on Sunday distanced itself from sitting Janata Dal (Secular) MP from Hassan Lok Sabha constituency, Prajwal Revanna, amid the controversy around his purported sleaze tapes.

S Prakash, the chief spokesperson of the BJP’s state unit, said, “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.

“While the BJP is contesting the ongoing Lok Sabha elections in the state in alliance with the JD(S), Revanna is seeking a fresh term in the Lower House from Hassan and is pitted against the Congress’ Shreyas Patel.

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