A special court in Karnataka has convicted former Janata Dal (Secular) MP Prajwal Revanna for raping his maid at his farmhouse and videographing the act. The court will pronounce the quantum of punishment on Saturday.
The Additional City Civil and Sessions Court Judge Santhosh Gajanan Bhat convicted Revanna in one of the four rape cases registered against him in April last year. The court completed the hearing in the case earlier this month and reserved it for judgment on Friday.
The court examined 26 witnesses during the trial of the case. The Special Investigation Team probing the case said in its charge-sheet that Revanna repeatedly demanded sexual favours from these women, including maids hired by his family, and used videos of him sexually harassing them in the past as a medium of blackmail. He often recorded him sexually abusing many of the survivors with the sole intention of threatening them at his will.
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The cases of sexual abuse came to light after pen drives containing explicit videos allegedly involving Prajwal Revanna were reportedly circulated in Hassan, ahead of Lok Sabha polls last year. The JD(S) suspended him from the party following the cases filed against him.
Four separate cases have been registered against Prajwal. He was arrested by the SIT on May 31 last year, upon arrival at Bengaluru Airport from Germany in connection with a case registered at the Holenarasipura Town Police Station. Following the controversy, Revanna lost in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.