Prajwal Revanna Sex Scandal: Shameful and Politically Exploited

Voting for 14 of Karnataka’s 28 seats, including Hassan, where Prajwal has again contested, took place on April 26. However, with the remaining 14 seats scheduled for polling in the third phase on May 7, there was mounting pressure from the BJP to take action against Prajwal. The case is yet another example of the moral bankruptcy of politicians and the abuse of their positions.

The disgrace and horror are heightened when it involves democratically elected representatives like MPs and MLAs, whom people approach with their grievances expecting resolution. The selective outrage of political parties and their leadership against crimes against women is equally abhorrent. The case involving Prajwal’s sexual crimes surpasses all previous instances of perversion.

Thousands of girls and women from various backgrounds (government officials, TV anchors, models, minors, maids) have allegedly been sexually exploited, with graphic details of the acts recorded on video. The perpetrator has reportedly recorded the faces of the victims while himself remaining hidden in most cases. An FIR has been lodged by one of the victims.

However, the trauma and agony experienced by these female victims are unimaginable. Reports from the ground suggest that women caught in the act are facing abandonment by their families, with husbands, children, and acquaintances shaming and disowning them. There are allegations that the Siddaramaiah government not only knew about the videos but also possessed copies of them and was waiting for an opportune moment – the Lok Sabha elections – to release and capitalize on them.

Sources claim that Karthik, a driver for the Revanna family who had personal issues with them, provided a pen drive containing the alleged acts to Karnataka’s Deputy Chief Minister, D.K. Shivakumar. Subsequently, it is alleged that multiple copies were made and distributed by ordinary Congress workers in many households in Hassan just days before the polling on April 26.

Of course, Shivakumar has refuted these claims, as has the driver. In June 2023, Prajwal managed to secure a gag order against media outlets from a Bengaluru civil court regarding the same sexual assault videos, dismissing them as ‘fake’ and ‘morphed’. “It’s an extremely influential family and it will be a herculean task for the SIT to investigate.

The political parties have no interest in investigating the case. They have already started their mudslinging. The victims’ lives are under threat.

Stories are already floating around about sexual acts being consensual,” says Vimala K.S., Vice-President of the Karnataka unit of the All India Democratic Women’s Association. Moreover, if the Congress government in Karnataka was aware of the case for months, why did it fail to file an FIR and launch investigations against him? The motives of the Congress government are suspect because of its failure to act promptly.

There was such a rush to gain political advantage that nobody bothered to blur the faces of the victims, some of whom were minors. People are cynical about justice being done because there is already a lot of pressure on women from the Deve Gowda family. For instance, the FIR hasn’t been registered under relevant sections of the IPC, which may weaken the case,” says Vinay Sreenivasa, an advocate based in Bengaluru.

He emphasizes the need for the Karnataka government to create a safe space for the survivors, suggesting that the SIT should include a retired judge, women activists, and officials from the home ministry. The Congress party and its national leaders, including Priyanka Gandhi, should be directing pertinent questions to the Congress state government in Karnataka instead of attempting to gain electoral mileage through public rallies nationwide. Similarly, the BJP, the JD(S)’s ally in Karnataka, must come clean on whether the leadership was aware of the perverted videos while allowing Revanna to seek re-election from the Hassan seat.

It’s well-known that when it comes to incidents of crimes against women involving high-profile politicians across party lines, political parties often refuse to acknowledge, let alone address, the issue. If it’s the same this time too, it would be tragic, to say the least.