JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy alleged on Tuesday that 25,000 pen drives containing sexually explicit videos, purportedly recorded by his nephew Prajwal Revanna, were distributed across Karnataka before the Lok Sabha elections last month. Kumaraswamy accused Congress leader DK Shivakumar of orchestrating this “conspiracy.”
Prajwal Revanna allegedly flew abroad on April 27, following the second phase of the Lok Sabha polls. HD Kumaraswamy claimed that the pen drives were initially circulated in Bengaluru Rural, the constituency of DK Shivakumar’s brother, DK Suresh.
Prajwal Revanna, who is the MP and JD(S) candidate in Karnataka’s Hassan, along with his father MLA H D Revanna, faces allegations of molesting their cook, with an additional case of rape registered against him. Earlier this month, Revanna’s father was arrested in a kidnapping case related to alleged sexual assault. In response to these allegations, the Karnataka government formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the charges.
Hinting at DK Shivakumar’s involvement, Kumaraswamy criticized the SIT, dubbing it the “Siddaramaiah Investigation Team” and “Shivakumar Investigation Team.” He questioned why action wasn’t taken against individuals named in complaints related to the distribution of the pen drives, despite his party’s polling agent filing a complaint.
Kumaraswamy also raised concerns about Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s remarks predicting the defeat of all three JD(S) candidates in the Lok Sabha elections, suggesting a possible conspiracy. JD(S) has suspended Prajwal Revanna, and authorities have issued a Blue Corner notice to locate him as he has been missing since April 27.