Born on August 5, 1990, Prajwal Revanna is an Indian politician who has been accused of sexual assault and rape. He represents the Hassan Constituency in the 17th Lok Sabha and is the third youngest Member of Parliament in India.

The lawmaker and former Karnataka Minister for Public Works Department, H. D. Revanna, is the father of Prajwal. He is the grandson of H. D. Deve Gowda, the former Prime Minister and the nephew of former Karnataka Chief Minister H. D. Kumaraswamy. 

2014 saw Prajwal earn his mechanical engineering degree from the Bangalore Institute of Technology. He enrolled in an Australian master’s course but left it to pursue a career in politics.

He was named the Janata Dal (Secular) party’s state general secretary in 2019 (JD(S)). He was employed by the JD(s) party for over eight years.

What is the Sex Tape Scandal involving Him?

In the general election of 2024, Prajwal ran against Hassan once more for the Lok Sabha. On election day, his poll worker reported to the police that some altered images and recordings of Prajwal were making the rounds in the Hassan district. The representative claimed that “the accused are going door to door and showing these obscene images and videos with the goal of provoking people not to vote for Prajwal…” Prior to the constituency’s elections, it was claimed that hundreds of sex films with several women, purportedly shot by Prajwal himself, were made public.

The media dubbed it a “sex scandal” as it gained more and more attention, and on April 27, it was revealed that the Karnataka government, upon request from the Karnataka State Commission for Women, had formed a Special Investigation Team to look into the matter. It was stated the next day that Prajwal had left the nation and taken refuge in Germany. According to the Commission, women were coerced or filmed without their permission.

How Many Are Available Videos In Total?

A pen drive that was circulating in Hassan had 2,976 videos, some lasting a few seconds and others up to several minutes, according to the Karnataka police. According to a first inquiry, the majority of the films were recorded using a cell phone in a storage at their Bengaluru and Hassan homes after 2019. To confirm their legitimacy, police have sent several of the pen drives for forensic analysis.

What Are Steps Taken by the Police?

A woman who works in his Hassan residence filed a complaint on Saturday, alleging that between 2019 and 2022, he and his father, H D Revanna, the JD (S) MLA from Holenarasipur, repeatedly sexually assaulted her. The complainant said that Revanna began calling her to his home during the fourth month of her job in 2019. When his wife wasn’t there, Revanna would call the women to the storeroom and touch them while giving them fruits. She said, “He used to take off saree pins and rape ladies.”

Police filed a complaint under sections 354A (sexual harassment), 354D (stalking), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 509 (outraging modesty of a lady) in response to the allegation.

Election agent for Revanna Poornachandra Tejaswi MG filed a police complaint against Naveen Gowda on Wednesday, claiming that he circulated the recordings to malign Revanna. The court had granted Prajwal an injunction to prevent the videos from being distributed.

A special investigation team (SIT) was formed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday to look into the allegations made against Prajwal. As stated in a statement announcing the formation of the SIT, “there are reports of pornographic video clips circulating in Hassan district, suggesting possible instances of sexual assault against women.” 

What Is Prajwal’s Current Location?

In accordance with a statement from the office of the Karnataka Chief Minister, Prajwal flew to Frankfurt, Germany, early on Saturday. The Gowda family did not refute the claim. SIT will investigate and bring his nephew back, according to H D Kumaraswamy.

What Political Effects Might The Karnataka Polls Have?

In an attempt to capitalize on the situation, the Congress has stated that the BJP knew about the recordings in December before partnering with the JD (S). On Monday, Hassan-based BJP MLA Pritam Gowda and senior party leader Devaraje Gowda asserted that they had notified state party president B Y Vijayendra about the recordings back in December, but the party nevertheless proceeded with forming an alliance with the JD (S).

Based on statistical analysis, it is unlikely that the videos will have a significant effect on the BJP because the majority of Vokkaliga-dominated areas in south Karnataka, where the JD (S) holds sway, had cast ballots in the first round. Karnataka’s second round of voting is scheduled for May 7 and will take place in the state’s northern regions, which are unaffected by the JD (S).

Just two of the JD (S)’s nineteen seats outside of south Karnataka were secured by the party in the 2023 assembly elections; these were the reserved seats of Devadurga in Raichur and Shivamogga (rural) in Shivamogga district. Even if the BJP has distanced itself from the incident, political analysts say it is a serious setback to the party in the war of perception.