BENGALURU: The special court on Friday convicted former Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna in one of the four sexual abuse and rape cases registered against him.
He was found guilty in the first case for allegedly raping his former maid at his farmhouse and recording an obscene video of the act.
Judge Santhosh Gajanan Bhat of the Special Court for the trial of criminal cases against present and former MPs/MLAs will pronounce the quantam of the sentence on Saturday.
Prajwal Revanna, the grandson of JD(S) supremo and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, appeared before the judge.
He was seen looking upset after being pronounced guilty. He has been lodged at the Bengaluru Central Prison in Parappana Agrahara for the past 14 months.
The trial in the case concluded on July 18, and the court reserved its verdict on July 30. Before pronouncing the verdict, the court sought clarifications from the lawyers on both sides, regarding Google Maps data and mobile phone records. The verdict was then adjourned to August 1.
The case was based on a complaint filed by a 47-year-old domestic worker at the Holenarasipura Town Police Station in Hassan on April 28, 2024. She alleged rape and harassment by Prajwal Revanna.
After the news broke, she was allegedly abducted at the behest of Prajwal’s parents, former minister and Holenasasipura MLA H.D. Revanna and Bhavani Revanna, to prevent her from testifying against their son.
She was later rescued by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) from a farmhouse in K R Nagar in Mysuru. The SIT filed a 1,632-page chargesheet in the case in September 2024.
Prajwal Revanna is the prime accused in four sexual abuse and rape cases that came to light a day after the Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka.
Obscene video clips allegedly depicting the sexual abuse of multiple women surfaced on social media, and pen drives containing such videos were recovered in Hassan. Prajwal fled the country on April 27, 2024, shortly before the scandal erupted.