Former PM HD Devegowda’s grandson booked under sexual harassment case, flees country

Amid the election season, a major controversy emerged in Karnataka surrounding viral obscene videos linked to BJP-Janata Dal-Secular (JDS) candidate (Hassan) and incumbent MP Prajwal Revanna and his father, former prime minister HD Deve Gowda's son, HD Revanna.

The controversy began on Sunday after a woman filed a police case against Karnataka MP Prajwal Revanna over alleged sexual assault, the police said on Monday. 

The First Information Report (FIR) has been filed with Holenarasipur police station in Hassan district. In the FIR, the woman alleged she was sexually abused multiple times between 2019 and 2022. According to sources reported by NDTV, more women are likely to come forward to file cases.

Prajwal Revanna was the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate in the Hassan Lok Sabha constituency, where voting was held in the second phase on April 26. Janata Dal (Secular), or JD(S), joined the NDA in September last year.

Prajwal Revanna, the Janata Dal (Secular) MP and grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, has denied the allegations and filed a police complaint too, saying the obscene videos in circulation were morphed.

Prajwal Revanna, however, left for Germany on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said the state government will form a special investigation team (SIT) to look into the obscene videos case.

The decision to set up the SIT came after the state women's commission recommended the Siddaramaiah government to take action. Obscene video clips are circulating in Hassan district, where it appears that women have been sexually assaulted, the Chief Minister said.

The BJP has, however, distanced itself from Prajwal Revanna amid the controversy around his purported sex tapes. "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," BJP state spokesperson S Prakash said.