The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has submitted a closure report in the case filed by Shivakumar, a close associate of Janata Dal (Secular) (JD(S)) MLC Suraj Revanna, citing a lack of evidence. Shivakumar had filed a complaint of extortion against a 27-year-old JD(S) party worker, who had accused Suraj Revanna of raping him.
The CID police have also submitted a B report in a case where Shivakumar had accused Suraj Revanna of raping him.
The party worker alleged that Suraj had raped him on June 16, 2024, at the Gannikada farmhouse in Holenarasipura in Hassan district during the first COVID-19 lockdown.
After the survivor filed the rape complaint, Shivakumar filed two cases: one alleging that the survivor attempted to extort money from Suraj to withdraw the rape case and another claiming that Suraj had sexually assaulted him (Shivakumar) as well.
The CID, which investigated all three cases, found no merit in either of Shivakumar’s complaints. The extortion case was found to be stage-managed. A senior police official told TNM that Suraj persuaded Shiva Kumar to urge the complainant to demand money so that the rape case registered against him can be settled.
The sexual assault case filed by Shivakumar against Suraj was also closed due to insufficient evidence.
The CID has filed a chargesheet against Suraj Revanna under Section 377 (unnatural sex) of the Indian Penal Code, based on the original complaint filed by the JD(S) worker. The chargesheet includes the survivor’s statement, corroborative witness accounts, and electronic evidence.
Suraj, the grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, was arrested on June 22, 2024 and spent nearly a month in judicial custody before being released on bail in the last week of July that year.