Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has handed over the sexual assault case against Suraj Revanna, grandson of former Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda and brother of rape accused Prajwal Revanna, to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
Suraj Revanna, 37, an MLC of the Janata Dal (Secular) or JD(S), has been accused of sexually assaulting a 27-year-old JD(S) male worker at his farm in Holenarsipura on 16 June. He was booked Friday under various charges including ‘unnatural offences’ and arrested Saturday.
Suraj has denied the allegations and accused the complainant of extortion.
“The Superintendent of Police, Hassan District is directed to send the case file with concerned I.O. (investigation officer) to handover personally to the investigation officer in CID,” R. Hithendra, additional director general of police (law & order), said in a note Sunday.
Suraj is the older son of H. D. Revanna. His brother Prajwal is currently in the custody of a special investigation team (SIT) for allegedly sexually exploiting multiple women.
The case against Suraj was registered at the Holenarsipura Rural Police station, the bastion of the Gowda family, under IPC sections 377, 342, 506 and 34. Multiple cases have been filed against members of the Revanna family over allegations of rape, molestation, criminal intimidation and abduction and other charges over the last couple of months.
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The case against Suraj
The complainant told the Hassan police Saturday that Suraj sexually abused him at his farm on 16 June. Based on this complaint, the police registered a case against Suraj under IPC sections 377 (unnatural offences), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 502 (criminal intimidation).
Before filing the complaint, the JD(S) worker wrote to the Karnataka police chief on 21 June that he had been sexually assaulted and was being threatened.
Suraj has denied the charge and accused the complainant of trying to extort Rs 5 crore from him, later reducing it to Rs 2 crore. On 21 June, Suraj told reporters that this was a conspiracy against him.
On 22 June, the complainant was made to undergo a medical test in Bengaluru.
“I won’t react,” H. D. Revanna told reporters Sunday. “I won’t say anything about it now. I have respect for the judiciary. What is happening in the state is known. I won’t react to anything. I have faith in God, the judiciary…Only time will decide.”
H. D. Revanna is out on bail in another case involving his other son.
Union Minister H. D. Kumaraswamy, who is H. D. Revanna’s brother, told reporters at he had no connection with the arrests.
Prajwal fled to Germany hours after polling for the Lok Sabha elections on 26 April and remained there. He returned to Bengaluru on 31 May, was arrested by the SIT, and remains in its custody.
His father was arrested for molestation and abduction but was released after about 10 days in jail while his mother, Bhavani, has secured an anticipatory bail in the same case.
Ever since the allegations against Prajwal surfaced, Kumaraswamy has tried to distance himself and shield the party and his father, Deve Gowda, from the controversy.
Kumaraswamy and H. D. Revanna have long been involved in a bitter battle for dominance within the Gowda household. With the series of cases against the Revanna family, Kumaraswamy has tightened his grip on the JD(S).
Incidentally, Kumaraswamy won the Mandya seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, while Prajwal lost from Hassan.
The Siddaramaiah government has tried to distance itself from the case, and has stated several times that it had formed an SIT and it was up to the probing agencies to take it forward.
“There are a series of cases that we have given to the CID. This has also been given,” G. Parameshwara, Karnataka’s Minister for Home Affairs, told reporters on 23 June.
“We received a complaint and the police are taking lawful action against it. Other than that, I am not aware of any allegations of political motives behind this,” the home minister said.
(Edited by Radifah Kabir)
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