Kumaraswamy questions timing of Prajwal Revanna’s prison transfer amid sting row
Bengaluru: Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel, H.D. Kumaraswamy, on Tuesday questioned the timing of developments related to rape accused former MP, Prajwal Revanna’s prison transfer, alleging that such issues were being brought to the fore to divert public attention when matters such as the Bidadi farmers’ protest came up for discussion.
It can be noted that former JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna is Kumaraswamy’s nephew. Prajwal Revanna, who is also the grandson of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, is convicted in a rape case and currently lodged in Bengaluru Central Jail.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Kumaraswamy asked what the authorities had been doing for nearly one-and-a-half years regarding the alleged incidents at Parappana Agrahara Central Prison and why the issue surfaced when the Bidadi farmers’ protest began.
Referring to media reports about Prajwal Revanna being shifted to Hindalga prison and subsequently brought back, he sought clarity on who had ordered the transfer, who had directed his return and who had made the relevant phone calls. He urged the state government to provide answers.
Kumaraswamy clarified that he had not criticised the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the Prajwal Revanna case. However, he insisted that the same level of seriousness should be shown in other cases as well.
Questioning the progress of the investigation into the circulation of pen drives linked to the case, he asked how many people had been arrested for producing and distributing them, how many women had filed complaints and what the investigation had revealed.
Kumaraswamy said the videos were distributed on pen drives in the Mandya and Hassan regions two days before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
It can be noted that in Hassan Prajwan Revanna contested from JD(S) as NDA candidate and from Mandya Union Minister Kumaraswamy was contesting.
Referring to Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Kumaraswamy said Gandhi had claimed that Prajwal Revanna had raped 400 women. “How many of those 400 women have come forward and filed cases?” he asked.
He alleged that the circulation of videos featuring several women on pen drives had damaged the dignity and reputation of their families. He alleged the women’s faces had not been blurred to protect their privacy when the videos were released.
Kumaraswamy also sought to know who had produced and circulated the videos, where they had been made and what action had been taken against those responsible. He alleged that those who distributed the videos were moving around freely in Hassan and demanded that the state government answer these questions.