JD(S) leader HD Revanna detained in kidnapping case after court rejects anticipatory bail
JD(S) leader HD Revanna was detained by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Karnataka police in Bengaluru on Saturday. The arrest came subsequent to a court's refusal of his anticipatory bail request in connection with a kidnapping case registered at the KR Nagar police station in Mysuru.
Revanna was apprehended by SIT officials at the Padmanabhanagar residence of his father and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda.
His arrest comes after a Special Court for People's Representatives in Bengaluru rejected the JD(S) leader's anticipatory bail plea in the kidnapping case.
The son of the 'abducted' woman has alleged that his mother was abducted and sexually abused.
In his complaint filed at the KR Nagar police station in Mysuru district, the man said his mother worked as a housemaid at HD Revanna's home for six years before returning to her village, where she worked as a daily wage labourer.
The complainant said that on April 23, his mother was taken away by a man named Sathish Babanna, who claimed to have been sent by HD Revanna's wife, Bhavani Revanna. She returned home on April 26.
Then on April 29, Babanna took her away again, citing an old legal issue as justification.
The man later discovered a video allegedly depicting sexual abuse of his mother by incumbent MP and Hassan Lok Sabha candidate Prajwal Revanna, prompting him to confront Babanna.
"My mother's picture is also in the obscene video controversy. She suddenly disappeared after the videos were revealed," the son added.
He then filed a kidnapping complaint against HD Revanna and Babanna on Thursday night.
The Holenarsipura MLA and his associate were booked under Sections 364A (kidnapping for ransom), 365 (kidnapping with intent to cause harm) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC.
The FIR, registered by KR Nagar police, also lists HD Revanna as accused number one and Babanna as accused number two under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Notably, the JD(S) MLA, along with his son Prajwal Revanna, are facing allegations of sexual abuse in connection with the 'obscene videos' case.
The father-son duo is facing a probe by the SIT over allegations of sexual harassment and criminal intimidation following a complaint by a woman who worked in their household.
On April 28, Revanna was booked in an alleged sexual harassment case based on a complaint lodged with Holenarasipura Town police.
The case was registered under sections 354A, 354D, 506, and 509 of the IPC on charges of sexual harassment, intimidation, and outraging the dignity of a woman.
As per the complaint, the victim claimed that Prajwal Revanna and his father, HD Revanna, had sexually assaulted her.
Explicit video clips allegedly involving Prajwal Revanna had started making the rounds in Hassan in recent days, following which the state government constituted the SIT to probe the alleged sex scandal involving the MP.
And following pressure mounting from opposition parties as well as within the party, the JD(S) suspended the Hassan MP on April 30.
Prajwal Revanna is said to have flown to Germany on April 27, a day after the first phase of Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka held on April 26.
The MEA, in its weekly briefing on Thursday, clarified that Prajwal had travelled to Germany on a diplomatic passport without political clearance. However, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal did not provide a direct reply when asked if the Hassan MP's passport would be revoked.
