Bhubaneswar, Apr 29: The Congress on Monday alleged that the BJP was responsible for the "escape" of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda's grandson Prajwal Revanna against whom a "sexual harassment" case has been registered.

Revanna is the BJP-JD(S) alliance candidate from the Hassan Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka, where voting was held in the second phase of elections on April 26.

Senior Congress leader Ajoy Kumar claimed, "Revanna left India shortly after several sex scandal videos recorded by him surfaced".

“He has recorded obscene videos. Such an accused has been allowed to leave the country freely. The BJP is responsible for it. The prime minister is also responsible for the escape of Revanna,” the Congress leader in charge of Odisha alleged.

He mocked the BJP, stating that "it should be called 'Balatkari Janata Party' as the saffron camp was supporting a rapist".

The JD(S) has decided to suspend Revanna over sexual abuse allegations, party chief H D Kumaraswamy said on Monday as the Congress and others tore into the BJP over the issue and its alliance with the southern party.

Police on Sunday booked Prajwal and his father -- JD(S) MLA and former minister H D Revanna -- for sexual harassment and criminal intimidation based on a complaint from a woman, who worked in their household.

As per official data, crimes against women have increased by 50 per cent during the NDA regime, Kumar claimed, adding that the number of such cases has "risen from 3 lakh to 4.45 lakh".

“For the first time, the country has been witnessing a prime minister, who is looking at all crimes from the party angle. The PM has a soft corner towards BJP leaders, irrespective of the accusation of heinous crimes against them,” the Congress leader claimed.

Odisha is in "fourth place in terms of crimes against women and the state is moving fast to be at the top position", said another Congress leader Bobbeeta Sharma, who was present at the press conference.

She alleged that "BJD leaders and MLAs, who are allegedly involved in atrocities on women are roaming freely because no action has been taken against them at the behest of the state government".

“Time has come to change the governments at the Centre and in Odisha," she added.

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Mangaluru: Mangaluru City Crime Branch (CCB) has successfully arrested four individuals suspected of peddling MDMA on the 15th of May. The arrests were made as the suspects were transporting the banned substance from Bengaluru to Mangaluru via car. The interception took place at Deralakatte, Mangaluru, following specific intelligence received by the police.

The arrested individuals have been identified as Mohammed Ameen Rafi (23), Mohammed Sinan Abdulla (23), Mohammed Nauman (22), and Mohammed Safil (23), all residents of various locations within Mangaluru. Along with the suspects, the police confiscated 270 grams of MDMA, with an estimated street value of Rs 6,50,000, alongside four mobile phone handsets, a Toyota Corolla car, and a digital weighing scale, valued at a total of Rs 14,85,500.

According to police sources, the accused were involved in procuring the illicit substance from Bengaluru and distributing it to students and members of the public across Karnataka and Kerala. Mohammed Rafi has a prior case registered against him for drug peddling in the Mangaluru South police station in 2021.

The operation was executed under the leadership of Assistant Commissioner of Police (CCB) Geetha Kulkarni. She was assisted by Police Inspector Shyam Sunder H M, Police Sub-Inspector Sharanappa Bhandary, and other CCB personnel.

A case relating to this incident has been filed at the Cen Police Station, and further investigations are underway.