Bengaluru: In a recent development, Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) leader Suraj Revanna, the brother of Prajwal Revanna, has alleged that he is being blackmailed with a false sexual assault case in Karnataka's Hassan.

Suraj Revanna's friend, Shivkumar, filed a complaint against two men, Chethan and his brother-in-law, claiming they demanded ₹ 5 crore and threatened to file a sexual abuse case against Suraj if their demands were not met. According to Shivkumar, Chethan initially approached him for help in finding a job. Shivkumar provided Suraj Revanna's contact details to Chethan, who then started blackmailing both Shivkumar and Suraj after failing to secure employment.

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The situation escalated when Chethan appeared on a private channel, alleging that he had been sexually abused by Suraj at a farmhouse. This development comes just days after former JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna was sent to judicial custody. Prajwal, the 33-year-old grandson of JD(S) patriarch and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, had recently lost his bid to retain the Hassan parliamentary constituency in the recent elections.

The allegations of sexual abuse against Prajwal Revanna emerged following the circulation of pen drives containing explicit videos allegedly involving him, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls on April 26. In response to the allegations, JD(S) suspended Prajwal from the party. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has distanced itself from the matter.

In addition to the accusations against Prajwal and Suraj, a police case has been filed against their father, HD Revanna, for allegedly kidnapping a woman who claimed she had been raped by both men. HD Revanna, a former MLA and Public Works Department Minister, was granted bail on May 14 in the kidnapping case and subsequently in the sexual assault case.

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Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.

Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.

Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.

An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.

The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.

A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.

Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."

"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.

"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.

A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.