Karnataka Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara on Tuesday made it clear that Prajwal Revanna, an incumbent MP who went absconding amid allegations of sexual assault of women, will be arrested as soon as he returns to India. However, he said that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) would decide where the arrest takes place.
The Congress government formed the SIT on April 28 to investigate the allegations by women against the Janata Dal Secular (JDS) leader, amid outrage over the leaked videos of the purported assaults. Prajwal, in a letter through his lawyer from an undisclosed location, had intimated the SIT that he would appear before them within seven days, but he did not turn up.
When asked whether the MP would be arrested when he boards the flight from the undisclosed location or if the authorities would wait until he reaches India, Parameshwara said, “The SIT will decide. The procedure will take place on its own. The SIT will decide where he should be arrested."
Prajwal, who re-contested from the Hassan seat, broke his silence, by sending a video. In the video, he stated that he would appear before the SIT on May 31 and would fully cooperate with the investigation.
When asked what action would be taken against if he does not turn up again, the Minister said, “If he doesn’t turn up, the law will take its course. I saw the video…I don’t know what prompted him to make this video…There is already a blue-corner notice against him, and a notice has also been issued by the SIT to him. The charge sheet will also be filed later, but now we need to find out the truth."
In the video, he apologised to his family and the JDS party workers for what has happened and claimed that it was a political conspiracy against him by local leaders and the Opposition, which, in turn, pushed him into depression and isolation.
The SIT has also issued a notice to Bhavani Revanna, Prajwal’s mother, who has now moved for anticipatory bail. To this, the Minister said, “Let the SIT do their job, and the government has given the team full freedom to investigate."
The Karnataka government had written twice to the PM asking the Centre to cancel the diplomatic passport of the Hassan MP. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has said they have initiated the process and issued a show-cause notice to Prajwal. On May 23, JDS patriarch, former PM and Prajwal’s grandfather, HD Deve Gowda, issued a stern warning asking him to appear before the investigating agencies or face his anger. This video released by Prajwal on May 27 came days after this warning was issued.
After Karnataka saw the murders of Neha Hiremath and Anjali Ambigere in Huballi and the custodial death in Channagiri, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleged a law and order breakdown in the state. Parameshwara asked the Opposition to refrain from making statements that hurt the image of the state.
“Law and order is good in the state. It is unfortunate that murders have happened, but I will also pull out data on the murders and law and order issues that took place when the BJP was in power. During their time, weren’t there any drugs at all? They should refrain from making statements like Udta Bengaluru; rather, if they have any information, they must share it with us. I am going to release the data comparing our time and theirs," replied the minister.
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