Fresh kidnapping case registered against H D Revanna and Prajwal: Police
Mysuru (Karnataka) (PTI): Former Karnataka minister H D Revanna and his son Prajwal Revanna face fresh troubles as a case has been lodged based on a youth's complaint alleging that his mother was abducted after a video of her being allegedly tied and raped by Prajwal emerged.
The case was registered on Thursday night, police here said.
Revanna, who is a JD(S) MLA from Holenarasipura constituency in Hassan district, is the son of former Prime Minister and JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda and elder brother of former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy.
Prajwal, the sitting JD(S) MP from Hassan, is facing allegations of sexually abusing women. The state government has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the case after scores of explicit video clips allegedly involving the 33-year-old MP started making the rounds in recent days.
He was the NDA candidate from the Hassan Lok Sabha constituency where polling was held on April 26. JD(S) joined the NDA in September last year.
A case of molestation was already registered against the father-son duo at Holenarasipura police station. According to the state Home Minister G Parameshwara, one more complaint was registered on Wednesday night.
However, in this latest case lodged on Thursday night, the 20-year-old complainant from Krishnaraja Nagar town in Mysuru district said his mother was kidnapped by Revanna.
He said six years ago his mother worked at Revanna’s residence in Holenarasipura. Three years ago, she quit the job and returned to her hometown.
About five days ago, Revanna’s confidant Sathish Babanna came to his house and said police may come to them for an inquiry and they should not reveal anything.
“On April 29 at about 9 pm, Sathish Babanna came to our house and said if your mother is caught then you will be in trouble and you may all go to jail. Revanna has asked me to take you. He then took her on a motorcycle,” the complainant said.
He said he has no clue where his mother has been taken away. However, on May 1, he said he received a call from his friends who told him that a video has surfaced showing his mother was tied with a rope and Prajwal allegedly raped her.
The complainant said there is threat to his mother’s life and sought police help to find out where his mother was.
The K R Nagar police under Mysuru Rural sub-division registered a case against H D Revanna and Sathish Babanna of kidnapping, wrongful confinement and connivance.
In response to the case and allegations, Revanna on Wednesday had said: “I have the strength to face these conspiracies. I will face it (investigation). There is no need to bother. I did not do anything wrong. I am prepared for any investigation and will fight it in a legal manner.”
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
