Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, accused of sexually abusing women, is scheduled to return to India from Germany. Prajwal, who faces multiple allegations of sexual abuse, announced in a video earlier this week that he plans to return on May 31 and cooperate with a Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating the matter.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka government has stated that if Prajwal fails to fulfill his commitment to appear before the SIT, further actions, such as passport cancellation, will be considered.
Here are the recent updates:
- According to reports, Revanna has taken a flight from Munich to India, expected to arrive after midnight.
- The Ministry of External Affairs has announced that the procedure to revoke Revanna’s diplomatic passport has been initiated, and he has been issued a show cause notice. “MEA has initiated action under provisions in the Passport Act 1967 for revocation of the diplomatic passport of Prajwal Revanna. A show cause notice was issued to the passport holder on 23rd May, giving him 10 working days to respond to our notice. We are waiting for a response and will take further action as per the rules,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
- Just a day earlier, Prajwal Revanna submitted an anticipatory bail plea in the sexual assault case at the Bengaluru sessions court.
- Congress leader and Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge criticized suspended JD-S leader Prajwal Revanna, stating,”I’m quite surprised that he remained silent when videos went viral, when a complaint was filed by the victims, and when the pen drives were being distributed. Suddenly, his consciousness wakes up and he says I was depressed and isolated. If you see the video closely, it doesn’t look like a person in depression is speaking. He did not say a word about the victims. He could have said the same thing on Days 1, and 2. Why did it take him 30 days? If you look from a bird’s eye view, you’ll know that the BJP is directing everything.”
The police are on high alert ahead of Prajwal’s arrival, with a team of SIT officials stationed at the airport. Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara stated that if Prajwal arrives, he will be arrested and legal proceedings will commence. Immigration officials at the airport will detain him and hand him over to the SIT, given the lookout notice against him. If he fails to arrive, the government will push for the cancellation of his passport.
The 33-year-old Prajwal, grandson of JD(S) patriarch and former PM HD Deve Gowda, and the NDA’s candidate from the Hassan Lok Sabha constituency, faces allegations of multiple instances of sexual abuse. These allegations surfaced after several explicit videos purportedly showing Prajwal engaging in sexual assault were made public. A SIT is currently investigating these cases. Prajwal reportedly left for Germany on April 27, a day after the Hassan polls, and his whereabouts remain unknown. Interpol has also issued a Blue Corner Notice seeking information on him.