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“They threatened to kill me or put me in jail,” a 43-year-old social worker told a Bengaluru court on August 20 during her cross-examination in the sexual assault case against former Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna.
The woman, the fourth prosecution witness in the case, told the court that she received threatening calls after her deposition. She also said that if anything happened to her or her son, Prajwal would be responsible.
The trial is taking place a year after Prajwal was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in a separate rape case.
The case on trial relates to allegations of sexual assault involving a domestic worker and her daughter. On April 28, 2024, an FIR was registered at Holenarasipura Town Police Station against former Janata Dal - Secular [JD(S)] MLA HD Revanna and his son Prajwal.
In her complaint, the mother alleged that Prajwal raped her and that she and her daughter had faced years of sexual harassment and abuse by Prajwal and HD Revanna. Prajwal was also accused of forcing her daughter to strip during a video call.
The social worker had helped the mother and daughter approach the authorities. In her deposition, she said she first came across the sexual assault videos on WhatsApp.
She later met the mother and daughter, who lived near her house, and asked the mother if anything had happened to her while she was working at Prajwal’s house. The social worker also gave the mother her phone number.
In about four days, the daughter called the social worker. The daughter said that her mother was crying, frightened, and had asked her not to come home or speak to her. The social worker then went to their house.
The social worker told the court that the mother was extremely distressed and that she spent about 10 minutes trying to calm her and establish what happened.
According to the social worker, the mother then told her that Prajwal’s mother Bhavani had harassed her and that a revenue official had come home. The mother had also told the social worker that while she was working in Prajwal’s home, he had taken away the daughter and behaved inappropriately.
The social worker said the mother was frightened about approaching the police. She then advised the mother to think things over and returned home.
Four or five days later, the daughter called again and told the social worker that they had decided to file a police complaint and asked her to come to Bengaluru. The social worker travelled to Bengaluru, encouraging and supporting the mother and daughter before they left with police personnel.
Court orders SIT probe
Taking note of the social worker’s statement, sessions court judge Shivaprasad KB directed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to enquire into the threatening calls, provide protection to the witness and submit a report at the next hearing.
The SIT has cited more than 100 witnesses in its chargesheet. The court is presently hearing the prosecution's evidence.
Prajwal Revanna, the grandson of former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, represented Hassan in the Lok Sabha from 2019 to 2024. He was arrested in May 2024 in connection with four sexual assault cases and was later convicted in one rape case.
A special court in Bengaluru sentenced him to life imprisonment in August 2025, following which he was lodged at Parappana Agrahara prison.
The matter has been posted for further hearing on September 2. Special Public Prosecutor Ashok Naik is representing the prosecution.
Central Crime Branch (CCB) personnel recently recovered a mobile phone, charger, pen drive and scribbling pad from Revanna’s cell in the high-security barrack at Parappana Agrahara prison.
