SIT indictment – The Week

Gruesome details of former Janata Dal (Secular) MP Prajwal Revanna's sexual offences were revealed after the Special Investigative Team (SIT) of Karnataka Police filed the chargesheet against him in the Special Electoral Agents' Court. The former Lok Sabha MP threatened women who did not move, saying that no one could touch him as he was a parliamentarian.

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Prajwal Revanna, the grandson of JD(S) patriarch HD Deve Gowda and son of party MP HD Revanna, is facing multiple rape and sexual harassment charges. Four separate cases have been filed against the 33-year-old, who failed to win a majority in Hassan constituency in the recent elections. The sexual abuse cases came to light after pen drives containing explicit videos involving Prajwal Revanna were circulated in Hassan ahead of the Lok Sabha elections there on April 26. The JD(S) suspended him from the party following the cases filed against him.

Gruesome details of sex crimes

According to the SIT's 1,632-page chargesheet, Prajwal is a notorious sex offender who blackmailed his victims. He repeatedly demanded sexual favors from them and threatened them with consequences if they did not comply. Prajwal filmed the rapes of the women so that he could use them to blackmail them in the future, the chargesheet says.

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Quoting a witness who used to work as a housemaid at the Revanna residence in Holenarsipura in Hassan district, The South First reported that Prajwal sexually abused her when her colleagues were away. In 2020, she was one of the domestic helpers brought to Basavanagudi in Bengaluru to clean a house owned by the Revannas. The witness told the SIT that while she was busy cleaning a bedroom on the first floor of the house, he came in and locked the door. The then MP demanded an oil massage from the witness, according to The South First.

When she refused, Revanna threatened to kill her and sexually abused her. He ignored the woman's repeated requests to release her and thwarted her attempts to escape the room. He filmed the sexual violence on his mobile phone and threatened to imprison her husband if she ever spoke about the incident, the report said.

The survivor added that that same year, she was sexually harassed and forced to engage in phone sex while working in the first floor hallway of Holenarsipura House.

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Prajwal Revanna has been charged under several sections of the IPC and the Information Technology (IT) Act. IPC Section 376(2)(k) – rape by a person in a position of power or dominance over a woman, Section 354(A) – sexual harassment, Section 354(B) – assault or force with intent to disrobe a woman, Section 354(C) – voyeurism, Section 506 – criminal intimidation and Section 376(2) – repeated rape of the same woman, to name a few.