A special court on Thursday, June 6, extended the police custody of rape accused Prajwal Revanna to June 10. He was arrested by the Special Investigation Team on May 31, a month after he fled to Germany hours after voting on April 26. The SIT initially got custody for six days which ended on June 6.
Since his arrest, Prajwal has been assigned an all-women team as a police escort to send a message to the survivors and the public. He has been questioned but is reportedly uncooperative.
Prajwal Revanna has been accused of sexually assaulting several women in Hassan district and filming the assaults. These videos were leaked just days before the Hassan seat went to polls on April 26.
The first complaint was filed against him on April 28, followed by two more on May 1 and May 2. One of the women was allegedly kidnapped at the behest of Holenarasipura MLA HD Revanna, Prajwal’s father. After the victims’ statements were recorded, police confirmed that four women had accused him of raping them.
Police had arrested Revanna on 4 in connection with the kidnapping case and was granted bail on May 13. While Revanna has approached the Karnataka High Court seeking quashing of the two cases against him — one of sexual harassment and one of kidnapping — the SIT has sought cancellation of bail.
Following the outrage that the videos have caused, the JD(S) suspended Prajwal. On June 4, he lost the Hassan Lok Sabha seat to which he had sought re-election.
TNM has been continuously reporting on this case, speaking to survivors and others affected to, explore the the profound societal impact of the sexual abuse videos. Our coverage can be accessed here.