Bengaluru: In a video released on Monday, May 27 absconding Janata Dal (Secular) MP Prajwal Revanna said that he he will appear before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) — constituted to investigate the cases of mass sexual abuse involving him — on May 31 and will “fully cooperate in the investigation”.
“When elections were held on April 26, there was no case against me and no SIT was formed, my foreign trip was pre-planned. I came to know about the allegations while I was on my trip. Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders started talking about it and a political conspiracy was started against me,” Prajwal said in a video message, apologising to his grandfather and former prime minister H.D. Devegowda, his uncle and former chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and his father and JD(S) MLA H.D. Revanna.
He added: “Some forces in Hassan have launched a political conspiracy against me and want to end my political career. I had to distance myself. There’s no need to be mistaken. I will come back on the 31st at 10 a.m. to meet the SIT and fully co-operate in the investigation. I believe in the law and the system. I will emerge stronger from all these false allegations against me.”
Further, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominee from Hassan constituency suggested that he went into “depression and isolation” after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other senior leaders spoke about his sexual abuse videos.
A special court on May 18 has issued an arrest warrant against Prajwal. Three FIRs have been filed so far against him in cases related to alleged sexual abuse.
Last month, several videos had surfaced showing multiple instances of what look like forceful and non-consensual sexual acts committed by the JD(S) leader. In most of the videos, it looks like women were recorded by him under what appear to be some form of duress and without their consent. An SIT was formed by the Siddaramaiah-led government on April 27 to probe these cases, on the same day he is said to have flown to Germany.
On May 22, Siddaramaiah has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to cancel Prajwal’s diplomatic passport. The Indian Express had reported that the Karnataka chief minister had earlier written to Modi on May 1 asking him to direct the home and external affairs ministries to cancel the Hassan MP’s diplomatic passport.
