SIT files charge sheet against Prajwal Revanna, father

The special investigation team (SIT) of the Karnataka Criminal Investigation Department has filed a charge sheet against former MP Prajwal Revanna for rape and his father and MLA H.D. Revanna for sexual harassment.

The SIT, which is probing four cases against Prajwal, said the over 2,000-page charge sheet comprises the statements of about 150 witnesses.

The charge sheet, submitted in a special court for public representatives, pertains to one of the cases involving alleged sexual assault on a domestic help of the family.

The charge sheet contains spot inspection, biological, physical, scientific, mobile, digital and other relevant evidences which were gathered.

Further, expert opinion was taken before filing the charge sheet, the SIT said.

While the MLA Revanna, who is son of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, has been charged with section 354 and 354 (A) of the IPC, his 33-year-old son Prajwal has been booked under sections 376, 376 (2)(K), 354, 354(A) and 354(B) of the IPC.

The first complaint against the father-son duo was registered based on a complaint by the domestic help at their residence.

The victim, who was also a relative of the MLA's wife Bhavani, alleged that she was sexually harassed multiple times.

Prajwal had contested the recent Lok Sabha election as an NDA candidate from Hassan and lost.

Ahead of the second phase of the Lok Sabha election on 26 April, a huge cache of explicit videos emerged on social media showing many women being sexually assaulted, allegedly by Prajwal.

Following this, chairperson of Karnataka State Commission for Women Nagalakshmi Chowdhary had sought an inquiry and wrote to the Congress government, which then ordered an investigation.