Prajwal Revanna’s Driver Says Gave Sex Clips to BJP After Gag Order; Gowda Blames JD(S) For Giving Him Ticket

As the obscene videos case unfolds, JD(S) leader Prajwal Revanna‘s driver Karthik on Tuesday said he gave the clips to Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and lawyer Devaraje Gowda. Gowda, meanwhile, said that he had warned the party of the sexual abuse allegations against Prajwal before the alliance was finalised. The party leadership, however, maintained that the letter did not reach them.

Prajwal, 33, the grandson of JD(S) chief and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, is the incumbent MP from Hassan. JD(S) is part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the state. His mother, Bhavani Revanna, was a member of the Hassan Zila Panchayat. His brother Suraj Revanna is an MLC. More than 2,000 video clips allegedly showing Prajwal indulging in sexual acts with several women, including a few government employees, were circulated in the Hassan district, which went to polls in the second phase on April 26. There are reports that most of the tapes were allegedly recorded by Prajwal on his mobile phone, which were then transferred to his laptop. Most of the tapes are said to be shot in his house and office.

On Saturday, a woman working in their house in Hassan filed a complaint, alleging that Prajwal and his father, HD Revanna, former Karnataka PWD minister and MLA from Holenarsipu, sexually abused her several times between 2019 and 2022. The complainant alleged that in the fourth month of her employment in 2019, Revanna started calling her to his house. “Whenever (HD) Revanna’s wife wasn’t there, he used to call the women to the storeroom and touch them while giving them fruits. He used to remove saree pins and sexually assault women,” she added.

Based on the complaint, the police registered a case under sections 354A (sexual harassment), 354D (stalking), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 509 (outraging modesty of a woman).

As the Karnataka government ordered a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the matter, Prajwal fled the country, claiming that the videos were doctored.

DRIVER SAYS GAVE CLIPS AFTER PRAJWAL GOT GAG ORDER; GOWDA SAYS WARNING LOST IN COMMUNICATION GAP

Karthik said: “I resigned a year ago. They assaulted my wife and me after snatching our land. As Gowda has been fighting against the HD Deve Gowda family, I went to him, but Prajwal Revanna got a stay against releasing videos. I gave a copy the videos and photos that were with me to Gowda. I did not give it to the Congress. I will appear before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) today and tell all details of what happened at the house.”

Gowda said, “I wrote a letter to our president about the video and gave it to the office, but as he said, the letter had not reached him either…I wrote in the letter that there is no problem in allying with JD(S) but there are serious allegations on him (Prajwal Revanna) of sexual harassment…Karthik, the driver of Prajwal Revanna came to me and said that he was being harassed. He (Karthik) said that he (Prajwal Revanna) has several obscene videos… I asked the driver if he had given this video to anyone… Karthik said that he had given the obscene videos to the Congress president…This pen drive will create problems. Thinking about this, I wrote a letter to the party…This is a communication gap and he got the ticket…Also, it was not the BJP’s fault as the JD(S) gave him a ticket, despite the intelligence report against Prajwal Revanna.”

PRAJWAL SUSPENDED FROM JD(S)

Prajwal was on Tuesday suspended from JD(S) over the scandal. “We welcome SIT against Prajwal Revanna. We’ve taken a decision to recommend our party’s national president to suspend him from the party till the SIT investigation is completed,” said JD(S) core committee president GT Deve Gowda.

“His (Prajwal Revanna) suspension is till the investigation is completed,” former Karnataka CM, JD(S) leader and Prajwal’s uncle HD Kumaraswamy added.

Earlier in the day, HD Kumaraswamy claimed that Karnataka’s deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar was behind the controversy, adding that he should be sacked. “Is Prajwal’s face seen in the videos? Still we will take action on moral grounds,” Kumaraswamy said, hours before the JD(S) core committee meeting in Hubbali.

Kumaraswamy’s statement came minutes after Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the BJP favours a probe in the case. “It is very serious, we cannot tolerate it. We want to ask Congress that despite being in power, why hasn’t the government acted yet? Priyanka (Gandhi Vadra) ji should ask their chief minister and deputy chief minister,” said Shah.

With ANI, Agency Inputs

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