Bengaluru: In a startling revelation, a former member of Hassan Zilla Panchayat (ZP) has accused incumbent JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna of raping her multiple times over three years and videographing the alleged crime.
A case was registered by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) based on the statement by the 44-year-old survivor on Wednesday, May 1.
According to the First Information Report (FIR) accessed by DH, the woman claimed that when she was a ZP member she used to visit the MLAs and MPs for various development works.
In one such instance in 2021, she met Prajwal seeking his help to get hostel seats for some female students at a local college. The woman, in her statement, said that since the MP was busy, she was asked to meet him the next day.
“The following day I visited the MP at his office and the MP's quarters in Hassan. The staff present there told me to wait on the first floor as there were many others in the hall. Prajwal spoke to some of the women waiting there, spoke with them and sent them off until I was the only one left,” the woman alleged.
As per the survivor, the MP then called her inside a room and she obliged.
“He held my hand, pulled me inside and locked the door. When I asked him why was he closing the door, he told me nothing would happen and made me sit on the bed. He said my husband should talk less and warned me of the consequences. He told me that if my husband wants to grow politically, I should listen to him [Prajwal],” the woman alleged.
Next, Prajwal allegedly told the woman to lie down on the bed and undress. When the woman refused and said that she would shout, Prajwal allegedly threatened her that he had a gun and warned of dire consequences for her and her husband.
The woman alleged that Prajwal took out his mobile phone and then raped her.
“He raped me and sexually assaulted me and recorded the act on his mobile phone,” the woman alleged. “He threatened to leak the video if I ever spoke about it and told me to be there whenever he wanted. After that, he used to video call me frequently, ask me to be naked during the call and raped me in multiple instances.”
The woman claimed that she was scared and did not make the incident public and chose to come forward after she learnt of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up by the Karnataka government to probe the alleged Hassan sex scandal.
A case was registered under Sections 376(2)(n) (commits rape repeatedly on the same woman), 506 (criminal intimidation), 354A(1)(physical contact and advances involving unwelcome and explicit sexual overtures), 354B (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe) and 354C (voyeurism) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 66E (violation of privacy) of the Information Technology (IT) Act.
Prajwal is also accused in a sexual harassment case along with his father, Holenarasipur MLA HD Revanna, registered at the Holenarasipur police station in Hassan on April 28.
On Friday, MLA Revanna withdrew his petition before the MP/MLA court seeking anticipatory bail in the case after the SIT submitted that no offence of rape was invoked and all offences in the FIR were bailable.
Another case was registered on May 2 at the KR Nagar police station in Mysuru accusing MLA Revanna and another person of kidnapping a victim allegedly sexually assaulted by Prajwal.