Abduction case: JD(S) leader H D Revanna remanded to special probe team custody till May 8
Bengaluru, May 5: Senior JD(S) leader and party MLA H D Revanna was remanded to police custody till May 8 by a city court on Sunday in connection with a case of alleged kidnapping and illegal confining of a woman.
Revanna, who is the son of former Prime Minister and JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda, was arrested on Saturday by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) after his bail plea was rejected in a case related to kidnapping and illegally confining a woman who is the mother of three children.
The FIR was registered against 66-year-old Revanna based on a complaint by the woman's son on Thursday.
After his medical examination at the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital here, the former minister was produced before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, who remanded him to the custody of the SIT.
ALSO READ: SIT launches helpline for victims of Prajwal Revanna sex scandal, encourages filing complaint
The SIT was formed by the Karnataka government on the recommendation of the Karnataka State Commission for Women chief Nagalakshmi Chowdhary after a huge cache of explicit videos of Revanna's son, JD(S) MP from Hassan Prajwal Revanna became public.
Prajwal Revanna (33), who is the BJP-JD(S) Hassan Lok Sabha candidate, faces rape and molestation charges.
In the complaint of abduction against H D Revanna to the K R Nagar police, the 20-year-old son of the victim had alleged that the MLA's close aide Sathish Babanna had taken his mother away on a motorcycle on April 29, stating that JD(S) leader wanted to see her.
The complainant stated that Babanna told him that if his mother "opened her mouth before the police", she and her family members would be arrested.
Later, the 20-year-old complainant got to know from a friend and relative that his mother was among the women in the cache of videos that has gone public, and that it showed her being tied up and raped allegedly by Prajwal.
As he expressed fear that his mother was in danger, police arrested Sathish Babanna and secured the victim from a farmhouse.
There are three FIRs registered in connection the sexual abuse allegations, involving the father and son, in total.
In the first case in Holenarasipura, the cook and relative of the Revannas complained that H D Revanna and his son Prajwal had molested her.
In the second complaint at CID Bengaluru, a JD(S) leader accused Prajwal of raping her at gunpoint, videographing the incident and then blackmailing her.
The third complaint is against HD Revanna pertaining to the abduction and illegal detention of a woman.
Before being produced before the magistrate, Revanna claimed there is no evidence of his involvement in the case based on the complaint against him registered on May 2.
"There are no evidences pertaining to the May 2 complaint. It's a big political conspiracy... A conspiracy was hatched against me," Revanna told reporters at the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital, where he was taken for a medical checkup.
He also said that there is no stain in his 40 years of political career.
Prajwal is abroad and a blue corner notice has been issued against him, according to the Karnataka Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara.
A Blue Corner notice has been issued and Interpol's help is being taken to bring Prajwal back to India, the minister said.
A Blue Corner Notice is issued by the international police cooperation body to collect additional information from its member countries about a person's identity, location or activities in relation to a crime.
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Sathankulam custodial deaths: Nine police personnel sentenced to death by court
Madurai (Tamil Nadu) (PTI): In a landmark judgment, a court here on Monday handed the death penalty to nine police personnel in the sensational 2020 Sathankulam custodial death case.
Father-son duo P Jayaraj and J Bennix were allegedly assaulted by the convicted policemen in Sathankulam, Thoothukudi district, for allegedly keeping their mobile shop open in violation of COVID-19 norms.
First Additional District and Sessions Judge G Muthukumaran classified the case as the rarest of rare, observing that those entrusted with protecting the public had committed a crime that shook the collective conscience of society.
The court sentenced all nine convicted police personnel to death for the murders of Jayaraj and Bennix.
The convicts include former inspector S Sridhar, former sub-inspectors Balakrishnan and Raghu Ganesh, and head constables Murugan and Saamidurai.
In addition to the capital punishment, the court imposed a combined fine of Rs 1.40 crore on the convicts to be paid as compensation to the victims' family.
While pronouncing the quantum of sentence, the judge said the police are meant to protect the common man, and when they become the perpetrators of such brutality, the law must act as a deterrent.
It also noted that by killing both the father and the son at once, the police had uprooted the very foundation of a family.
The judge stressed that the punishment must be severe enough to ensure such horrors never recur.
The tragedy dates back to June 2020, when Jayaraj and Bennix were picked up for allegedly keeping their mobile phone shop open beyond permitted hours. They were subjected to extreme physical assault while in custody, leading to their deaths at a hospital days later.
Following a massive public outcry, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court took notice of the case, which was eventually investigated by the CBI.
A total of 105 witnesses were examined over a five-year period. Of the initial 10 accused, special sub inspector Pauldurai died during the trial due to health complications.
