New Delhi:

Karnataka government has urged the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to seek other nations help to trace JDS leader Prajwal Revanna, who is accused of allegedly raping multiple women.

Revanna, the grandson of former prime minister Deve Gowda, left the country after videos showing him allegedly harassing women surfaced on social media, triggering a huge row in the middle of the general election.

Earlier today, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi wrote to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, urging him to extend all possible help to the victims in the case.

“I request you to kindly extend all possible support to the victims,” Mr Gandhi said in his letter.

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 also claimed that Prajwal Revanna misbehaved with her daughter over a video call and had “vulgar conversations” with her.

Bengaluru:

A special investigation team arrived at Janata Dal (Secular) leader Prajwal Revanna’s home in Karnataka’s Hassan today amid the ongoing probe into the ‘obscene videos’ case. Earlier today state Home Minister Gangadharaiah Parameshwara issued a second lookout notice has been issued against Prajwal Revanna and his father HD Revanna.

“We have issued lookout notices against both HD Revanna and Prajwal Revanna. We had issued a lookout notice to HD Revanna as he may plan to go abroad. But the second notice was given yesterday. They have time until this evening to reply to the notices,” said Karnataka Home Minister Parameshwara during a media briefing on Saturday.

This development comes after the first lookout notice was issued against HD Revanna and his son Prajwal Revanna when they requested time to appear before the investigation team.

Prajwal Revanna, the grandson of former prime minister Deve Gowda, is accused of raping multiple women. He has left the country after the videos surfaced on social media, triggering a huge row in the middle of the general election.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has written to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, urging him to extend all possible help to the victims in the case.

“I request you to kindly extend all possible support to the victims,” Mr Gandhi said in his letter to the Karnataka chief minister.

“They deserve our compassion and solidarity as they fight their battle for justice. We have a collective duty to ensure that all parties responsible for these heinous crimes are brought to book,” he added.

Describing the incidents as “horrific sexual violence” unleashed by the incumbent member of Parliament from Hassan, Mr Gandhi alleged that Revanna sexually assaulted and filmed hundreds of women over several years.

Bengaluru:

A sex scandal allegedly involving Karnataka MP Prajwal Revanna has become a talking point ahead of the third phase of Lok Sabha elections with both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal (Secular) trying to allay voter’s fears. Mr Revanna, grandson of JDS chief and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, today filed a complaint claiming that the videos being circulated are doctored.

The Hassan MP in his complaint said that the videos are morphed and being circulated to “tarnish his image and poison the minds of voters.”

He filed the FIR a day after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah called for a special investigation team to probe the scandal.

“The government has decided to form a special investigation team in connection with Prajwal Revanna’s obscene video case,” Mr Siddaramaiah said in a post on X late Saturday night.

Obscene video clips are circulating in Hassan district, where it appears that women have been sexually assaulted, the chief minister said.

“In this background, the Chairperson of the Women’s Commission (Dr Nagalakshmi Chowdhary) had written a letter to the government to conduct an SIT investigation. This decision has been taken in response to their request,” Mr Siddaramaiah said.

Mr Revanna left for Germany on Saturday morning.

The JDS had formed an alliance with the BJP in September last year after breaking ties with the Congress.

But the BJP has distanced itself from Prajwal Revanna amid the controversy around his purported sex tapes.

S Prakash, the chief spokesperson of 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.”

Bengaluru:

A day after voting took place in the constituency, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has ordered the formation of a special investigation team to probe a sex scandal allegedly involving Hassan MP and Janata Dal (Secular) candidate from the seat, Prajwal Revanna. Mr Revanna, grandson of JDS chief and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, has left for Germany.

After videos depicting sexual acts began circulating in Hassan, some of which allegedly involved women being forced or filmed without their consent, the Karnataka State Commission for Women had, on Thursday, asked the chief minister to set up a special investigation team. 

Announcing the decision on Saturday, Siddaramaiah wrote in Kannada on X, “The government has decided to form a special investigation team in connection with the Prajwal Revanna obscene video case. Obscene video clips are circulating in Hassan district, where it appears that women have been sexually assaulted.

“In this backdrop, the Chairperson of the Women’s Commission had written a letter to the government to conduct an SIT investigation. This decision has been taken in response to their request,” he wrote.

Mr Revanna left for Germany on Saturday morning.

The JDS is in an alliance with the BJP and, earlier in the day, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar demanded answers from the ruling party at the Centre as well. 

“The allegations of sexual assault are not just on some random Hassan leader. (Karnataka BJP Chief) BY Vijayendra and others must answer. I read reports of them saying that the Women’s Commission is trying to tarnish their image. The Commission has written a letter to the chief minister and the home Minister,” Mr Shivakumar was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. 

On JDS leader and former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy’s indirectly accusing him of involvement in the case, Mr Shivakumar said, “Let him bring up my name. I will expose him. Is he justifying sexual assault against women by talking like this?”