Bengaluru court convicts ex MP Prajwal Revanna in rape case

New Delhi: In a major setback to former JDS MP Prajwal Revanna, a Special Court in Bengaluru on Friday held him guilty in one of the four sexual abuse and rape cases registered against him, after hundreds of explicit videos surfaced ahead of Parliamentary polls in 2024.

Special Court Judge Santosh Gajanan Bhat convicted the former Lok Sabha member. The court would announce the quantum of punishment on Saturday.

Prajwal Revanna is the grandson of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda.

The abuses have come to light after pen-drives containing explicit videos allegedly involving Prajwal Revanna were reportedly circulated in Hassan, ahead of Lok Sabha polls there on April 26, 2024.

The case was related to a complaint by a 48-year-old woman who worked as domestic aide at the family's Gannikada farmhouse in Hassan district's Holenarasipura. The woman accused Revanna of having raped her twice in 2021. The accused had also recorded the act on his mobile phone.

A total of four cases were registered against Revanna. He has been charged with rape and sexual harassment. A Special Investigation Team(SIT) has probed all the four cases.

Prajwal was arrested from Bengaluru airport on May 31, 2024 by CID's SIT on his return from Germany where he remained holed up for 35 days after hundreds of explicit video surfaced allegedly featuring him with multiple women.

He had left for Germany on April 27 a day after polling was held in Parliamentary constituency Hassan. He lost the Lok Sabha election by over 40,000 votes.