Mandya MP Sumalatha Ambareesh decides to join BJP, says not contesting LS polls

Bengaluru: JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Sunday said he would like to wait for the facts to come out of the investigation into an alleged sex scandal involving his nephew and Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, but asserted that there is no question of forgiving anyone who has committed a crime as per law.

The former chief minister said he has nothing to do with Prajwal Revanna reportedly leaving the country, and it is the responsibility of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to get him back if required.

The 33-year-old Prajwal Revanna is the son of former prime minister and JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda's elder son H D Revanna, who is an MLA and former minister.

Some explicit video clips allegedly involving Prajwal Revanna had started making the rounds in Hassan in recent days.

Prajwal Revanna is the BJP-JD(S) alliance's candidate from Hassan, which went to polls on Friday.

Kumaraswamy said, "I have noticed that the chief minister has ordered an SIT probe. Whether it is me or Deve Gowda (his father), we have always conducted ourselves respectfully towards women and have responded positively when anyone came with any sufferings. We have tried to address them."

Speaking to reporters here, he said, "The Hassan related issue that started during elections, let the facts come out through a probe. Whoever it is, who has committed the mistake as per the law of the land...there is no question of forgiving anyone who has committed the mistake. So let the facts come out from the probe, after that I will react."

To a question on Prajwal Revanna going to a foreign country, Kumaraswamy said, "It is not related to me. SIT probe has been ordered, officials have been put to work. If he has gone to a foreign country, getting him back is their responsibility. What should I say, if I'm asked. They (SIT) will get him, don't worry."

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced the decision to constitute a SIT to probe the alleged sex scandal involving the MP.

Meanwhile, the police have information that Prajwal has left the country, according to a statement issued by the Chief Minister’s office.

"Prajwal Revanna’s explicit video clips are being circulated in Hassan and it appears prime facie that women were sexually assaulted,' the statement said, adding that the government decided to form an SIT based on a petition by the chief of the Karnataka State Commission for Women.

The Commission's chairperson Dr Nagalakshmi Chaudhary on Thursday wrote to Siddaramaiah and state police chief Alok Mohan, seeking a probe into the videos that are in circulation in Hassan.

Prajwal has through his election agent lodged a complaint with the authorities that the videos are "doctored" and being circulated to tarnish his image ahead of elections.

New Delhi:  Twenty-nine Maoists, including a senior rebel leader - Shankar Rao, who had a bounty of ₹ 25 lakh on his head - were killed by security forces during an encounter in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district on Tuesday afternoon. A huge quantity of weapons, including Ak-47 and INSAS rifles, were recovered. 

Three security personnel were injured in the gunfight, which took place in forests near the village of Binagunda after a joint team of District Reserve Guard and Border Security Force were attacked.

Two of the three injured are from the BSF. Their condition is stable but the third - from the DRG - is in critical care. All three received treatment at a local hospital and are to be shifted to a larger facility.

Sources said the fighting began at around 2 PM, when a joint DRG-BSF team was conducting an anti-Maoist operation. The DRG was set up in in 2008 to combat Maoist activities in the state, and the Border Security Force has been deployed extensively in the area to for counter-insurgency ops.

There was another encounter in the district last month, in which two people - a Maoist and a cop - were killed, and security forces recovered a gun, some explosives, and other incriminating materials.

Personnel from the DRG and Bastar Fighters, both units of the state police force, with the Border Security Force, were involved in that operation, officials told news agency PTI. The patrolling team was cordoning off a forested area when fired on indiscriminately, leading to the gun battle.

In November last year, while the state was voting in the first phase of an Assembly election, a gunfight broke out between security forces and Maoist rebels in the same district.

An Ak-47 rifle was recovered from the encounter site.

On the same day, while polling was taking place, Maoists fired at DRG personnel deployed near a polling station in Banda in Dantewada district.

The JD(S) on Tuesday, April 30, announced that former Indian Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda's grandson Prajwal Revanna has been suspended from the party temporarily until allegations against him over sexual abuse are probed.

Revanna and his father HD Revanna, also a JD(S) MLA, were booked on Sunday by the police for sexual harassment and criminal intimidation based on a complaint from a woman, who worked in their household.

"We welcome SIT against Prajwal Revanna. We've taken a decision to recommend our party's national president to suspend him from the party till the SIT investigation is completed, " JD(S) core committee president GT Devegowda said.

Revanna currently is not in India. Opposition members raised concerns over how he was allowed to leave the country.

"A decision was already made. Tomorrow it is to be recommended at the core committee meeting in Hubballi. Because he (Prajwal) is a Member of Parliament, it has to be done from Delhi. So I had requested Deve Gowda (JD(S) National President and former PM). Neither he (Gowda) nor I were aware of this issue," party chief H D Kumaraswamy has said yesterday. "Some issues have come out, based on that it has been decided yesterday itself to suspend (him). But many were in a hurry."

Prajwal, 33, represents the BJP-JD(S) alliance in the Lok Sabha election in Hassan, which happened on Friday.

Kumaraswamy alleged that Congress was manipulating facts to destroy the image of his family amid the controversy over the 'obscene' video case against his nephew Prajwal.

"We are not going to protect him, we will take severe action but the government's responsibility is more," Kumaraswamy said.

"This is the manipulation of Congress to destroy the image of our family. What is the role of Dewegowda Ji or me? We are not responsible for all those things. This is the individual issue of Prajwal Revanna. I am not in contact with him (Prajwal). It is the responsibility of the government to bring him before the law. Morally we have decided to make some decisions," Kumaraswamy told reporters on Tuesday.

Prajwal Revanna sex scandal

The state government under CM Siddaramaiah has formed a Special Investigation Team to look into the matter. In recent days, certain explicit video clips purportedly featuring Prajwal have circulated in Hassan.

In response, Revanna stated his willingness to cooperate with any investigation regarding the allegations of sexual abuse against his son and himself. He affirmed their readiness to accept any legal consequences if the accusations are substantiated.

Prajwal's father HD Revanna said that his son would appear for an SIT probe whenever he is asked to.

A case of sexual harassment and stalking was registered on Sunday against HD Revanna and Prajwal Revanna at Holenarasipur police station based on a complaint by their cook.

The complainant said she is a relative of Revanna's wife Bhavani.

She claimed that four months into her employment, Revanna began sexually harassing her, while his son Prajwal engaged in video calls with her daughter, engaging in "vulgar conversations."

She also alleged that there is a threat to her life as well as other members of her family.