HD Revanna gets interim bail in sexual harassment case
Bengaluru, May 16: A court here on Thursday granted interim bail to JD(S) MLA and former Karnataka Minister H D Revanna in a sexual harassment case.
The case of sexual harassment of a 47-year-old house help was registered against Revanna and his son and MP Prajwal Revanna at the Holenarsipur town police station in Hassan district on April 28.
Prajwal reportedly left for Germany on April 27 and is still at large.
The complainant had claimed that the father-son duo had sexually abused her at the 66-year-old MLA's house.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) which is probing the alleged sexual abuse charges against Prajwal and related cases, had sought custody of the former minister.
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Revanna’s advocates sought anticipatory bail in the case. However, the 42nd Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court (ACMM) heard the matter and gave interim relief to Revanna till Friday.
The SIT had sent two notices to Revanna, son of JD(S) patriarch and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, and Prajwal to join the investigation, but both of them skipped it.
On Thursday Revanna applied for anticipatory bail and the SIT objected to this and sought his custody or that he be remanded in judicial custody. The court, after hearing both sides, decided to hear the matter again on Friday and till then gave relief to Revanna.
A Special Court for Elected Representatives on Monday granted bail to Revanna in case where he is accused of having kidnapped one of the women allegedly abused sexually by Prajwal, as seen in the leaked videos.
Revanna was then released from jail.
He had been arrested by the SIT on May 4 in that case.
The 33-year-old Prajwal is facing charges of multiple instances of sexually abusing women. The scandal has raised a political storm, with the ruling Congress and BJP-JD(S) engaging in a slugfest.
He was BJP-JD(S) alliance's joint candidate from Hassan Lok Sabha segment, which went to polls in the first phase on April 26.
An Interpol Blue Corner Notice issued against Prajwal in an effort to bring him back to the country to face the law has not yet had the desired effect.
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Assam CM flays Cong for 'not verifying' documents before making charges against his family
Sivasagar/Guwahati (PTI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday slammed the Congress for “not verifying” the documents based on which it brought allegations against him and his family.
Congress leader Pawan Khera had on Sunday alleged that Sarma’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, has multiple passports and foreign property, which were not declared in the chief minister’s election affidavit.
Sarma also hit out at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, claiming that he was “speaking like a madman” due to old age, after the latter put the onus on central agencies to probe the charges.
The CM asserted that Khera had “run away” to Hyderabad, but the Assam Police will “hunt him down even from ‘pataal’ (netherworld)”.
“‘Assam Police ko nahi jante hain.. Pataal se bhi ukhar ke le ayega’ (They don’t know the Assam Police... they will hunt him down even from the netherworld),” asserted Sarma.
An Assam Police team had earlier in the day visited the Delhi residence of Khera for questioning him in connection with the case.
“If they didn’t know the truth, why did they put it out in public? They should have asked the foreign minister first,” Sarma told reporters on the sidelines of an election campaign, when asked for his reaction to Kharge’s assertion that the Union government should probe the allegations now.
Kharge, at a presser in Guwahati on Tuesday, said all agencies are under the central government, which should probe the charges.
"They have already filed an FIR against Khera. Let them probe the matter. We will face the case as it progresses. We have sought probes by the ED or CBI into the allegations," he said.
Sarma added: “Kharge is ageing and is speaking like a ‘pagal’ (madman). You insult the people first and then say will ask the foreign minister (for verification)? Is he your ‘damad’ (son-in-law),” the chief minister said.
“I think Rahul Gandhi had given these documents to Khera, and if that is so, the case will then include Gandhi,” he added.
