Karnataka Member of Legislative Council Suraj Revanna was arrested on Sunday, June 23, less than 24 hours after he was booked for allegedly sexually assaulting a male Janata Dal (Secular) party worker.
Suraj allegedly assaulted the man on June 16, at the family farmhouse in Gannikada in Channapatna taluk. Hassan police have booked him under sections 377 (unnatural sex), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 342 (wrongful confinement).
The accusation against Suraj, who is a doctor, comes against the backdrop of his younger brother Prajwal Revanna being arrested and investigated for sexually assaulting at least four women. His father H.D. Revanna has been accused of sexually harassing one woman, and both his father and mother being accused of kidnapping one of the women whom Prajwal allegedly sexually assaulted.
The complainant had given an interview to a Kannada TV channel on Friday night, where he detailed the alleged assault. A day later, on Saturday, he filed a complaint with the Holenarasipura Rural Police Station.
On Saturday, Suraj spoke to the media and said that there was a conspiracy against him. “It’s completely a political conspiracy against me. Let them do whatever they want. There’s a law and it will decide. There’s an FIR registered against the man. The investigation will take place and the truth will be out. I believe in law. It’s a complete political conspiracy but I won’t react, investigation is going on and the truth will be out,” he said.
Suraj’s staff member had filed a complaint against the complainant on June 22 alleging extortion. Suraj’s uncle and Union minister H.D. Kumaraswamy distanced himself from the allegations and told the media that the law would take its course.
