A year on, trial set to begin in one rape case against Prajwal Revanna

Prajwal Revanna was arrested by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in Bengaluru on May 31, 2024.
| Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO

For the women survivors of the massive sex scandal that came to light in Hassan in 2024, every minute of the past year has been quite long and lonely. Many of them lived secluded lives, avoided going out, hardly met friends and relatives and never attended public functions. And they are not sure how long this ordeal will continue.

But the only silver lining has been that four cases of sexual abuse registered against former Hassan JDS MP Prajwal Revanna have all been chargesheeted and trial is set to begin in one rape case on Monday, April 28, a relatively quick turn around in such cases. While the court will likely start parallel trial in another rape case, the court is yet to frame charges in two other cases. Prajwal was arrested by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in Bengaluru on May 31, 2024.

The case beginning trial is said to be the strongest against him – the video reportedly records the man, forensically identified as Prajwal, forcing himself on the victim despite her pleas to spare her. The forensic analysis has recorded Prajwal’s DNA on her clothes. Recently, Prajwal alleged the trial court was biased against him, but the petition was not entertained, and the trial is set to begin on Monday. However, his counsel may approach the High Court, sources said.

“His advocates have been deploying delay tactics. But despite that, we have brought the cases to a stage where there cannot be much delay any further,” said a senior official from the SIT formed to probe cases against him on April 28 last year.

The Supreme Court has also denied bail to Prajwal Revanna. However, his parents, H. D. Revanna and Bhavani Revanna, who were booked for abducting one of the victims in an alleged attempt to prevent her from deposing against Prajwal, are out on bail. While Mr. Revanna, MLA from Holenarasipur, has been actively holding public meetings in the district, Ms. Bhavani, who was earlier restricted from entering Hassan and Mysuru districts, was allowed to return in a recent April 4 order and was given a rousing welcome by her supporters.

This has further brought down the morale of the victims. The leaked video clips were uploaded to different platforms on the internet. Since then, their lives have not been normal. The development hit them individually, and their families too suffered. Among the survivors, many have seen significant changes in their lives. A couple of them have relocated to bigger cities, seeking the comfort of living amidst strangers.

“Now and then, she thinks about who all must have seen the video clips and what their reactions must be. She could not step out of her home even once, fearing stares from the people on the streets,” a person close to one of the survivors said.

There is considerable anger over those who leaked the video clips as well. “The people who recorded the videos and those who leaked them did not think of the impact on the women,” said a person who is a friend of one of the survivors in Hassan. “She went through hell all these days. In the first few days, she faced the difficulty of facing her family members. Gradually, they stood by her. However, she has not come out of the trauma yet, and probably, she will need more time,” the person said.

The survivors feel that they became pawns in the hands of a few who wanted to settle political scores. Pendrives carrying these explicit clips, without even masking the faces of the women, were thrown in several public places of Hassan town, days ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2024. Prajwal Revanna lost the polls. The SIT was also tasked with probing the case against those who leaked the videos, but the probe is yet to be completed. While a few youths, who were known to be associated with a local BJP leader, were arrested, no chargesheet has been filed against them.

Sources in the SIT said the probe into this case was also drawing to a close and a chargesheet will be filed over the next fortnight.