New Delhi: In the early hours of Friday (May 31), Hassan MP and Janata Dal (Secular) leader Prajwal Revanna arrived at the Bengaluru airport from Munich and was arrested by the Karnataka police. Prajwal had fled the country using his diplomatic passport on April 26, soon after thousands of videos of him sexually abusing women became public.
According to The Indian Express, a Karnataka Police Special Investigation Team (SIT), the Bengaluru police and immigration authorities had planned for the arrest after learning from Interpol the flight on which Prajwal would be returning.
Prajwal was taken to CID Headquarters at Carlton House on Palace road after his arrest, The News Minute reported.
A day before Prajwal’s scheduled return, the Ministry of External Affairs announced that it was awaiting a response from him to a notice issued as part of the process to revoke his diplomatic passport.
On May 27, a month after fleeing, Prajwal had released a video saying he will appear before the SIT on May 31 and will “fully cooperate in the investigation”. He also claimed that his trip was “pre-planned” and had nothing to do with the allegations.
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.
Prajwal’s father, H.D. Revanna, was arrested on May 4 on charges of kidnapping, but he is currently out on bail. He has also been accused of sexual harassment by another woman.
Multiple reports have shown that the JD(S) and its ally, the BJP, were aware of the allegations against Prajwal before he was re-nominated from the Hassan seat.
