Former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda has issued a stern warning to his grandson and JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna, asking him to surrender before the police and face probe in the sexual abuse allegations against him.
“This is not an appeal that I am making, it is a warning that I am issuing,” the party patriarch said in a statement which he shared on social media.
Prajwal, who is seeking re-election from Hassan Lok Sabha constituency, has been on the run ever since a huge cache of explicit videos become public, showing women being sexually assaulted allegedly by him.
Prajwal reportedly flew to Germany in the last week of April. An arrest warrant has also been issued against him besides a blue corner notice by the Interpol.
"At this juncture, I can do only one thing; I can issue a stern warning to Prajwal and ask him to return from wherever he is and surrender before the police. He should subject himself to the legal process," Gowda said in his letter.
"If he does not heed this warning, he will have to face my anger and anger of all his family members. The law will take care of the accusations against him, but not listening to the family will ensure his total isolation. If he has any respect left for me, he has to return immediately," he said.
The 92-year-old veteran reiterated that his grandson should be given the harshest punishment under the law if found guilty. He also asserted that there will be no interference from him or his family members in the investigation against Prajwal.
“There is no emotion in this regard in my mind whatsoever, there is only the cause of justice for those who have suffered as a result of his alleged actions and misdeeds,” said Gowda.
Prajwal's father and Holenarasipura MLA H.D. Revanna is out on bail in two cases. One is related to molestation of a cook, who was also allegedly raped by Prajwal, and the other relates to the kidnap of a woman.
On Thursday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah wrote a second letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to take "prompt and necessary" actions to cancel the diplomatic passport of Prajwal.
He said that it is "disheartening" that his previous letter on the issue had not been acted-upon, despite the gravity of the situation.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up by the state government to probe the case has also written to the Ministry of External Affairs to cancel Prajwal’s diplomatic passport, on the basis of an arrest warrant issued against him by the court.
