BENGALURU: Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar is behind leaking the alleged sex pen drives of Hassan MP and Lok Sabha candidate Prajwal Revanna, alleged advocate and BJP leader from Hassan, Devaraje Gowda, at a press conference in Bengaluru on Monday.
“The mastermind in the pen drive case is DK Shivakumar. I was offered a cabinet minister’s post through LR Shivarame Gowda,” he charged. He alleged that BJP leader Shivarame Gowda was the one who connected the call to Shivakumar. But he refused to reveal more details about the telephone conversation between him and the deputy chief minister.
He also expressed doubts over the investigation being carried out by the Special Investigation Team, formed by the state government to probe the sex scandal allegedly involving Prajwal. He alleged that IPS officer Suman D Pennekar asked him to delete his statement given to SIT against Shivakumar, but he refused. He also did not reveal the allegations made before SIT. He said either the CBI or a committee headed by a retired high court judge should investigate the case. He alleged that Prajwal’s former car driver Karthik is being protected by Shivakumar.
Gowda said he feared SIT booking him as accused number 1 for circulating the videos as he did not accept the offer made by Shivakumar. He also alleged that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had called a meeting of police officers on Sunday and gave them directions as to who should be arrested.
Govt will not interfere in probe, says CM
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said the state government is not intervening in the SIT probe. “Devarajegowda’s allegations are misleading. We will not spare any culprits, even if they are influential. Efficient officers have been picked for the SIT,” he said.
“Devarajegowda has said the incident is damaging Modi’s image. BJP should have thought about it before forming the alliance with JDS,” he commented.
Devaraje Gowda’s allegations baseless, says DKS
Bengaluru: Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Monday hit out at Devaraje Gowda, accusing him of lying on the instructions of BJP and JDS leaders. In a press statement, Shivakumar said there is no connection between him and the pen drive, and all the allegations against him are baseless and lies. He said that earlier, Devaraje Gowda, who is a BJP worker, had contested polls on the party ticket. “Now the BJP is in alliance with the JDS and this incident has caused embarrassment to the party. In order to prevent further embarassment, both the BJP and JDS leaders are trying to put the blame on me,” he said. Further, Shivakumar added that earlier, the same Devaraje Gowda had stated that he had released the pen drive after taking permission of BJP leaders. “There is a conspiracy behind all this,” he added. ENS