Alleged sexual abuse case against JD(S) MLC Suraj Revanna handed over to CID
Bengaluru (PTI): A case of alleged sexual abuse of a male party worker against JD(S) MLC Suraj Revanna has been handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for probe, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said on Sunday.
Earlier in the day, Suraj Revanna -- the brother of former MP Prajwal Revanna who is facing allegations of sexually abusing several women -- was arrested in Hassan on charges of "unnatural offences" against him, police sources said.
He was booked on Saturday for allegedly sexually abusing a party worker a few days ago and has been booked under different sections of the IPC, including "unnatural offences."
"The case registered in Hassan District Holenarasipura Rural Police Station under sections 377, 342, 506, 34 IPC is transferred to CID for further investigation with immediate effect. The case file should be handed over to CID for further investigation, forthwith," a message from the office of the Director General and Inspector General of Police to Director General of Police CID and Superintendent of Police, Hassan said.
The Superintendent of Police, Hassan district is directed to send the case file with concerned IO (Investigation Officer) to hand over personally to the Investigation Officer in CID, it said.
The Director General of Police, CID (Special Units and Economic Offences), Bengaluru has been asked to arrange to take up further investigation, and to send the detailed report after the completion of the investigation of the case.
Speaking to reporters, Home Minister Parameshwara said following the complaint, police have registered an FIR, they have secured Suraj Revanna and the inquiry is going on.
The case is being handed over to the CID, he said, adding "a series of similar cases were given to CID, this is also being given to CID."
Regarding Suraj Revanna's complaint, he said, "whatever action needs to be taken on that, will be taken."
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On Suraj Revanna alleging a conspiracy against his family, Parameshwara said, "complaint has come, based on it whatever action needs to be taken in accordance with law, is being taken. Other than that I don't know about any political conspiracy that he has alleged."
Suraj was questioned at Cyber Economic and Narcotics (CEN) crime police station in Hassan overnight, before he was arrested this morning, the sources said, adding he was later taken to Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences (HIMS) for medical examination.
A 27 year-old man had complained to the police that Suraj Revanna, the eldest son of Holenarasipura MLA H D Revanna, sexually abused him at his farmhouse in Ghannikada on June 16.
Based on the complaint, Holenarasipura police registered a case against the JD(S) MLC under IPC Sections 377 (unnatural offences), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 506 (criminal intimidation) late on Saturday evening.
However, Suraj Revanna (37), grandson of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda and nephew of Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy, has categorically refuted the charge. Suraj had also alleged the man had filed a false complaint against him in a bid to extort Rs 5 crore from him.
On Friday, police registered a case of extortion against the JD(S) worker on a complaint by Suraj Revanna's close aide Shivakumar.
Shivakumar had alleged that the party worker was trying to extort money from Suraj Revanna by threatening to lodge a false case of sexual assault against him.
It has been alleged that while the man demanded Rs 5 crore from Suraj Revanna, later it was reduced to Rs 2 crore.
Suraj's brother and former Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna is in police custody for allegedly sexually assaulting several women and was arrested upon his return from Germany last month.
Prajwal, who lost from Hassan Lok Sabha seat, was arrested on May 31 soon after returning from Germany where he was holed up after rape and intimidation cases were registered against him.
Their father H D Revanna and mother Bhavani are out on bail. They have been accused of kidnapping and keeping an alleged victim of their son Prajwal's sexual assaults.
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Netanyahu recommends his Cabinet approve Hezbollah cease-fire proposal
Beirut, Nov 26: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that he would recommend his cabinet adopt a United States-brokered ceasefire agreement with Lebanon's Hezbollah, as Israeli warplanes struck across Lebanon, killing at least 23 people.
The Israeli military also issued a flurry of evacuation warnings — a sign it was aiming to inflict punishment on Hezbollah down to the final moments before any ceasefire takes hold. For the first time in the conflict, Israeli ground troops reached parts of Lebanon's Litani River, a focal point of the emerging deal.
In a televised statement, Netanyahu said he would present the ceasefire to Cabinet ministers later on Tuesday, setting the stage for an end to nearly 14 months of fighting.
Netanyahu said the vote was expected later Tuesday. It was not immediately clear when the ceasefire would go into effect, and the exact terms of the deal were not released. The deal does not affect Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, which shows no signs of ending.
The evacuation warnings covered many areas, including parts of Beirut that previously have not been targeted. The warnings, coupled with fear that Israel was ratcheting up attacks before a ceasefire, sent residents fleeing. Traffic was gridlocked, and some cars had mattresses tied to them. Dozens of people, some wearing their pajamas, gathered in a central square, huddling under blankets or standing around fires as Israeli drones buzzed loudly overhead.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, kept up its rocket fire, triggering air raid sirens across northern Israel.
Lebanese officials have said Hezbollah also supports the deal. If approved by all sides, the deal would be a major step toward ending the Israel-Hezbollah war that has inflamed tensions across the region and raised fears of an even wider conflict between Israel and Hezbollah's patron, Iran.
The deal calls for a two-month initial halt in fighting and would require Hezbollah to end its armed presence in a broad swath of southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops would return to their side of the border. Thousands of Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers would deploy in the south, and an international panel headed by the United States would monitor all sides' compliance.
But implementation remains a major question mark. Israel has demanded the right to act should Hezbollah violate its obligations. Lebanese officials have rejected writing that into the proposal. Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz insisted on Tuesday that the military would strike Hezbollah if the U.N. peacekeeping force, known as UNIFIL, doesn't provide “effective enforcement” of the deal.
“If you don't act, we will act, and with great force,” Katz said, speaking with UN special envoy Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert.
The European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said Tuesday that Israel's security concerns had been addressed in the deal also brokered by France.
“There is not an excuse for not implementing a ceasefire. Otherwise, Lebanon will fall apart,” Borrell told reporters in Italy on the sidelines of a Group of Seven meeting. He said France would participate on the ceasefire implementation committee at Lebanon's request.
Bombardment of Beirut's southern suburbs continues
Even as Israeli, US, Lebanese and international officials have expressed growing optimism over a ceasefire, Israel has continued its campaign in Lebanon, which it says aims to cripple Hezbollah's military capabilities.
An Israeli strike on Tuesday levelled a residential building in the central Beirut district of Basta — the second time in recent days warplanes have hit the crowded area near the city's downtown. At least seven people were killed and 37 wounded, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.
Three people were killed in a separate strike in Beirut and three in a strike on a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon. Lebanese state media said another 10 people were killed in the eastern Baalbek province. Israel says it targets Hezbollah fighters and their infrastructure.
Earlier, Israeli jets struck at least six buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs. One strike slammed near the country's only airport, sending plumes of smoke into the sky. The airport has continued to function despite its location on the Mediterranean coast next to the densely populated suburbs where many of Hezbollah's operations are based.
Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee issued evacuation warnings for 20 buildings in the suburbs, as well as a warning for the southern town of Naqoura where UNIFIL is headquartered.
UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told The Associated Press that peacekeepers will not evacuate.
Other strikes hit in the southern city of Tyre, where the Israeli military said it killed a local Hezbollah commander.
The Israeli military also said its ground troops clashed with Hezbollah forces and destroyed rocket launchers in the Slouqi area on the eastern end of the Litani River, a few kilometres from the Israeli border.
Previous ceasefire hopes were dashed
Under the ceasefire deal, Hezbollah would be required to move its forces north of the Litani, which in some places is about 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the border.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, the strongest Iranian-backed force in the region, would likely significantly calm regional tensions that have led to fears of a direct, all-out war between Israel and Iran. It's not clear how the ceasefire will affect the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Hezbollah had long insisted that it would not agree to a ceasefire until the war in Gaza ends, but it dropped that condition.
Hezbollah began firing into northern Israel, saying it was showing support for the Palestinians, a day after Hamas carried out its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, triggering the Gaza war. Israel returned fire on Hezbollah, and the two sides have been exchanging barrages ever since.
Israel escalated its campaign of bombardment in mid-September and later sent troops into Lebanon, vowing to put an end to Hezbollah fire so tens of thousands of evacuated Israelis could return to their homes.
More than 3,760 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon the past 13 months, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The bombardment has driven 1.2 million people from their homes. Israel says it has killed more than 2,000 Hezbollah members.
Hezbollah fire has forced some 50,000 Israelis to evacuate in the country's north, and its rockets have reached as far south in Israel as Tel Aviv. At least 75 people have been killed, more than half of them civilians. More than 50 Israeli soldiers have died in the ground offensive in Lebanon.
After previous hopes for a ceasefire were dashed, U.S. officials cautioned that negotiations were not yet complete and noted there could be last-minute hitches that delay or destroy an agreement.
“Nothing is done until everything is done,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby said.
While the ceasefire proposal is expected to be approved if Netanyahu brings it to a vote in his security Cabinet, one hard-line member, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, said he would oppose it. He said on X that a deal with Lebanon would be a “big mistake” and a “missed historic opportunity to eradicate Hezbollah.”
