'Used To Touch When His Wife Wasn't Home': House Help's Damning Complaint Against Prajwal Revanna

Bengaluru: The woman who filed a complaint against JD(S) chief and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda’s grandson Prajwal Revanna has made damning accusations, stating that she felt fear whenever he (Prajwal Revanna) came home. “After four months of joining, Revanna kept calling me to his room. There were six women workers in the house and everyone said that they were scared when Prajwal Revanna came home. The male workers in the house also alerted the women workers to be careful,” the woman, who worked as a house help, stated in her complaint. 

The woman complainant also implicated HD Revanna, Prajwal's father and Deve Gowda's son, as a defendant in the case. For the unversed, a case of sexual harassment and stalking was registered on Sunday against Prajwal Revanna, who is Hassan MP. The case was registered at Holenarasipur police station in the district based on a complaint by their cook. This comes after the Karnataka government today constituted a Special Investigation Team to probe an alleged sex scandal involving Prajwal following a letter by the Chairperson of Women’s Commission Dr Nagalakshmi Chowdhary to the government. The 33-year-old Prajwal was the NDA candidate in the Hassan Lok Sabha constituency, which went to polls on April 26. The JD(S) joined the NDA in September last year.

Damning Allegations Against HD Revanna, Prajwal Revanna

• In her complaint, the victim, who used to work as a cook in JDS leader's residence has claimed that both HD Revanna and Prajwal Revanna used to sexually assault women workers.
• “Whenever (HD) Revanna’s wife wasn’t there, he used to call the women to the storeroom and offer them fruits while touching them inappropriately. He used to remove saree pins and sexually assault women,” the complainant alleged. 
• “Whenever Prajwal Revanna returned home, anxiety permeated the household among the six female staff members. Even male colleagues advised us to be careful”, the FIR registered by the woman complainant said.
• The victim claimed that Prajwal also behaved inappropriately with her daughter during a video call. "My daughter blocked his number after repeated calls," the complainant said.

Why Did The Woman File Complaint Now?

The woman complainant informed the police that she decided to come forward and identify the father-son duo HD Revanna and Prajwal Revanna after watching online videos of other victims sharing their stories. Narrating her ordeal, she stated that the abuse occurred between 2019 and 2022.

Her complaint, along with others', and the FIR lodged against Prajwal will be transferred to the SIT headed by Additional General of Police Bijay Kumar Singh. The team includes IPS officers Suman D Pennekar and Seema Latkar.

'HD Revanna Open to Investigation'

Meanwhile, JD(S) MLA and former minister HD Revanna said he was open to an investigation over the allegations of sexual abuse involving his son and Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna and himself, and said they were ready to face action in accordance with law, if the charges are proved. Alleging that there was "politics" behind the issue, the elder son of JD(S) patriarch and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda said his son Prajwal Revanna would "join" the probe "whenever he is asked to".

"We are here, we will face it legally... Some four or five-year-old) thing they have got it now and booking case...I will not react to this issue, as the case has been given to SIT and their investigation should not be hindered," HD Revanna told reporters here.

When it was pointed out that an FIR had been registered against him too, he said, "There is politics, I don't want to comment. They (Congress) are in government and they will do whatever they want." He further said, "All these things are not just today, the Deve Gowda family in the last 40 years (has been targeted by) Congress. CoD (now CID), Lokayukta probe, we have been facing for the last 40 years... I don't want to react to anything...let them take action in accordance with law," he said, adding that he hasn't spoken to Deve Gowda on the issue.

Responding to some Congress leaders' claims calling it the biggest sex scandal, he said, "If it is, let them investigate. They have formed SIT...we will see what happens in accordance with law." 

Congress Demands His Arrest

Members of the women’s wing of the Congress, meanwhile, staged a protest against Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna and demanded his immediate arrest. The protesters burnt his posters and sought a thorough inquiry into the case by raising slogans against the 33-year-old, who is the grandson of JD(S) supremo and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda. 

Demanding his immediate arrest, a Congress leader said, "He (Prajwal Revanna) should be given severe punishment and should be hanged for what he has done with these women. It has brought down the honour of the entire state of Karnataka."