Sex scandal probe: No question of protecting anyone, says Home Minister G Parameshwara
Bengaluru(PTI): Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Wednesday said there is no question of protecting anyone including Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna over an alleged sex scandal involving him and that action has been initiated in accordance with law by forming a Special Investigation Team (SIT).
He was reacting to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's statement on Tuesday wanting to know why the Congress government in Karnataka did not take any action against Prajwal Revanna.
The 33-year-old Prajwal Revanna is the son of H D Deve Gowda's elder son H D Revanna, who is an MLA and a former Minister. Prajwal is the BJP-JD(S) alliance's candidate from Hassan, which went to the polls on Friday.
Explicit video clips allegedly involving Prajwal Revanna had started making the rounds in Hassan recently, following which the state government constituted an SIT to probe the alleged sex scandal involving the MP.
SIT on Tuesday issued notice to Prajwal Revanna and his father H D Revanna, who have been booked for alleged sexual harassment, at the Holenarsipura police station in Hassan district on April 28 based on a complaint by a woman who worked in their house, directing them to appear for investigation.
"No one is arrested all of a sudden. Factors such as complaints, evidence, sections that have been invoked, whether it is bailable or non bailable will be considered. So they (SIT) have issued notice under Section 41A of CrPC. Within 24 hours they (Revanna and Prajwal) will have to appear, if not further procedures will follow," Parameshwara said, in response to a question.
While speaking to reporters here, he said, the SIT was formed immediately by the state government and investigation has started.
"Saying that we (govt) did not do anything (is not right). The Union Home Minister has said it, it has come to my notice. There is no question of protecting anyone in this case. Action has been initiated in accordance with law. It (case) is linked to a lot of lives, so things cannot be done as per one's wishes. That's the reason SIT was formed," he added.
The SIT led by B K Singh, Additional Director-General of Police, Criminal Investigation Department, was formed on April 28 to probe the alleged sex scandal involving the MP.
Noting that SIT has recorded the statement of the complainant, the Home Minister said that it is functioning procedurally within the framework of law.
To a question as to who leaked the videos, he said, "SIT will look into it, I cannot say much about it."
SIT has issued the notice and there is evidence to prove that Prajwal Revanna has gone abroad and his air ticket and other details have been found, Parameshwara said. "The procedures required to get him back, SIT will do it," he added.
"Whether there is a requirement of the central government's support or SIT will find and get him back themselves, what procedures they (SIT) may adopt, it is left to them," he said.
Prajwal Revanna is said to have flown abroad after the first phase of Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka held on April 26.
Asked about JD(S) leader and Prajwal's uncle H D Kumaraswamy's allegation that Deputy CM D K Shivakumar is behind the video leak, Parameshwara said, "I have noticed it. Many people have made statements in this regard. I cannot answer it. After the SIT report comes, based on facts, action will be taken. So we cannot make any statements now."
The JD(S) led by Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy has welcomed the SIT probe and has stated that action should be taken against Prajwal in accordance with law if he is proved guilty following the probe. Prajwal was on Tuesday suspended from the party.
To a question regarding the probe on who leaked the videos, Parameshwara said, "Through SIT probe it may come out as to who released it and where did it originate. Based on that, they may take action. Once this (probe on sex scandal) is done, further action too will follow."
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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.
