The chain of events that started in the third week of April 2024 with the leak of videos of sexual assault has reached a major milestone with former Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna being convicted of raping one woman. He still faces charges of raping or sexually harassing four other women and those trials are yet to begin. The conviction is the result of the hard work of several people, especially the police and the prosecution, who played a role in ensuring that a powerful man did not get away with his crimes.
In April last year, sexually explicit images that were “linked to powerful politicians” began appearing on social media. At first, it appeared that the images and videos floating around were the sexcapades of yet another politician, a phenomenon quite common in Karnataka.
On the evening of April 22, local tabloids in Hassan had published stories about a “sex scandal” involving a politician.
By this time, Hassan-based activists said, the videos were already being circulated and discussed among men.
A local activist, who did not wish to be named, told TNM that she asked male friends and acquaintances for the videos. “They said the videos were very explicit, implying that I shouldn’t be seeing them. But unless we watch it, how will we know what is happening? When I watched the videos I realised that women were being assaulted. By this time, the videos were linked to Prajwal Revanna, but nobody said this openly.”
Local activists in Hassan then reached out to members of the Mahila Dourjanya Virodhi Okkootta, a federation of women’s organisations in the state. Over a long conference call, members of the Okkoota and activists in Hassan discussed what was happening. “It took an hour to explain,” the Hassan-based activist said.
Once they realised the gravity of the situation, eight to 10 activists wrote to the Karnataka State Women’s Commission Chairperson Nagalakshmi Choudhary on April 24, alleging that a “powerful politician” in Hassan was sexually abusing women.
“We were offended that this was happening to women in Hassan and this was allegedly done by a Member of Parliament. He wasn’t just any MP, his grandfather is a former prime minister, his uncle a former chief minister and his father, an MLA,” said Akhila Vidyasandhra, advocate and member of the Okkoota.
It was the activists writing to the Women’s Commission and the commission then taking it up started a chain of events that ended with the conviction. Because by then, most politicians knew about the tapes, including those in the government, but neither was anyone willing to announce suo moto action, nor did the police come up to file a case.
The day after receiving the letter, Nagalakshmi wrote to the state police chief and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah asking for a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the allegations against a powerful politician.
On April 27, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the government would form an SIT to investigate the allegations against Prajwal Revanna. By that time, Prajwal had left the country after casting his vote on April 26.
Protests
In Hassan, activists could not immediately protest the leak of the videos.
“The model code of conduct was in force. There was no way the police would have given us permission. So the first protest was held on April 29, in Maharaja Park in Hassan town,” Hassan-based writer and activist Roopa Hasana told TNM. She said that another protest was then held on May 17.
Feminist organisations and progressive groups across the state then organised a massive protest in Hassan town on May 30. With the “Hassan Chalo” protest, they kept up public pressure on the government and expressed solidarity with the women whose sexual assault videos were being watched almost like pornography.
The investigation and prosecution
The state government appointed senior IPS officer BK Singh, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Criminal Investigation Department (CID) as the head of the SIT. He was assisted by IPS officers Seema Latkar and Suman Pennekar, and inspectors and constables were drawn from across the state.
In the early days of the investigation, the team trawled through around 3,000 videos and images to establish that around 70 women had been filmed or photographed. Despite the SIT setting up a helpline to urge women to come forward and complain, only five ultimately lodged complaints with the police.
The SIT could have chosen to rely on the victims’ statements alone, like many investigators do, but they decided early into the probe that they would supplement the case with scientific evidence. From matching the rooms shown in the video to Prajwal’s guesthouse and even confirming through forensic images, they compiled evidence against Prajwal Revanna to corroborate the survivor’s allegations.
In court, two Special Public Prosecutors Ashok Naik and BN Jagadeesha strongly countered delaying tactics employed by Prajwal Revanna and his counsel. On one occasion, Prajwal Revanna claimed that he had not been provided the required documents. At another point, he even accused the judge of having a “bias” against him. His claims did not stand in court, and the trial began.
‘Faith in judiciary restored’
With the conviction of Prajwal Revanna on August 1 and the life sentence handed out to him the next day, many people in Hassan and across the state feel that justice has been served. However, nearly all of them underscored the need to ensure that the people who leaked the videos too should be held accountable.
Dharmesh, a Communist Party of India (Marxist) activist, said, “The brave women who spoke up must be appreciated. What was done to the dignity of those women cannot be undone, but the perpetrator has been punished. People’s faith in the judiciary has been restored, they feel that he did not get away with it even though he was powerful.”
He said that the police had done a commendable job by completing the investigation quickly, and so too, the judiciary, which ensured the completion of the trial of at least one case in a year’s time.
Akhila said, “We must appreciate the police, the judiciary, and the state government for ensuring that justice was done. So too, all the people who kept pressure on the government to ensure that the case reaches a logical conclusion.”
Author and human rights activist Roopa Hasana told TNM that the conviction was “small consolation” for whatever had happened. “There are many more women who were never able to come forward due to pressure from their families and social stigma. The SIT identified around 70 women. Nothing can compensate for the pain suffered by these women and their families,” she said.
Roopa said that many of the women had left town after the videos were leaked and had still not returned.
Another activist who did not wish to be named told TNM what had happened was not just rape. “Many people had the videos. Even after the SIT was formed, at least twice, more videos were released. There’s no proof for it, but the belief here in Hassan is that people used these women to achieve their own ends by releasing the videos. The video leaks must be investigated and those responsible should be brought to book.”