Karnataka sex scandal: SIT takes HD Revanna into custody

In a major development, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the sex video scandal involving JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna on Saturday, 4 May, took his father and JD(S) MLA H.D. Revanna into custody after his anticipatory bail plea in a victim kidnapping case was rejected by the People's Representative Court in Bengaluru.

Sources said that H.D. Revanna has been taken into custody from the residence of his father and former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda in Bengaluru's Padmanabhanagar locality. He has been taken to the SIT office on the premises of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

H.D. Revanna opened the door himself and walked out with the SIT officers towards their vehicle. He did not make any remark at the time of his arrest.

The SIT officers reached the former PM's residence soon after the court turned down his anticipatory bail plea in a case related to the kidnapping of a woman who was allegedly sexually assaulted by his son Prajwal Revanna, the sources said.

Earlier on Saturday, the SIT traced the kidnapped woman to the farmhouse of Rajashekar, the personal assistant (PA) to H.D. Revanna, at Kalenahalli village in Mysuru district.

In the court, special public prosecutor B.N. Jagadish submitted that the case is about saving the life of a poor woman.

Jagadish argued that H.D. Revanna did not turn up before the authorities even after being served three notices.

Senior counsel Muthy D. Naik, appearing for H.D. Revanna, argued that the only allegation against his client is a statement that he had called the victim to his residence.

Barring this, there is nothing to prove the role of H.D. Revanna in this case, he argued, adding that the statement was made by an accused in the case, with whom his client has no connections.

He also claimed that the SIT has deliberately added IPC Section 364A, which attracts life imprisonment and capital punishment, to ensure that his client's bail plea is rejected.

The other IPC Sections invoked in the case -- 363 and 365 -- attract imprisonment of less than seven years. Therefore, to prove the innocence of H.D. Revanna, he should be granted bail, Naik submitted.

Meanwhile, the woman, who had gone missing on 29 April, was found locked up in the farmhouse when the SIT officers reached there following a tip-off.

Sources said Rajashekar has been absconding ever since the SIT traced the missing woman to his farmhouse.

The woman is being brought to Bengaluru where her statement will be recorded.

On Friday, Karnataka Police registered an FIR against H.D. Revanna in connection with the kidnapping of the woman, believed to be one of the victims of the sex video scandal involving his son Prajwal Revanna.

The woman's son had registered a missing complaint naming H.D. Revanna as the prime accused in the case.

His relative Satish Babu was named as the second accused in the FIR, whom the police arrested from Mysuru district on Friday.

The woman's son alleged that his mother went missing after the surfacing of a purported sex video in which Prajwal Revanna could be seen sexually assaulting her.

He also alleged that his mother was locked up in an undisclosed location, as he pleaded with the police to initiate legal action against H.D. Revanna and Satish Babu.

Prajwal Revanna, the sitting JD(S) MP from Hassan, has reportedly fled from the country.