‘Return or face total isolation’: Ex-PM Deve Gowda’s public ultimatum to grandson
Prajwal Revanna, who is seeking re-election from the Hassan Lok Sabha constituency, left for Germany after explicit videos featuring him were leaked
BENGALURU: Former prime minister and Janata Dal (Secular) patriarch HD Deve Gowda on Thursday asked his grandson Prajwal Revanna, who is accused in multiple rape cases, “to return from wherever he is and surrender before the police” or risk “total isolation” from the family.
In a statement released on X, Gowda underlined that he was unaware of where his grandson was and could only issue a “stern warning” to return and face the law. “He should not test my patience any further.”
“This is not an appeal that I am making, it is a warning that I am issuing. If he does not heed to this warning, he will have to face my anger and anger of all his family members. The law will take care of the accusations against him, but not listening to the family will ensure his total isolation,” said Gowda in the statement, a sharp contrast to his first statement on May 18 when he suggested that the case had been “created”.
Referring to his May 18 remarks when he was on his way to a temple, Gowda said it had taken him some time to recover from the shock and pain inflicted on him and that “it was of utmost importance” for him to win back the trust of the people who have stood by him for 60 years of his political life.
Deve Gowda’s public message to his grandson comes against the backdrop of efforts by the state government to get the central government to revoke the diplomatic passport issued to Prajwal, the Hassan Lok Sabha MP, and national outrage over the sexual assault.
To be sure, the 33-year-old MP has already been suspended by the JD(S) after a huge cache of explicit videos that allegedly showed him sexually abusing several women leaked hours after polling for the Lok Sabha on April 26. Prajwal Revanna was the NDA candidate from the Hassan Lok Sabha seat.
Prajwal Revanna fled to Germany the following day. Initially, his family insisted that Prajwal had gone abroad on a scheduled visit and would be back soon.
A special investigation team set up to probe the sexual assault charges had earlier issued a Look Out Circular, and an Interpol Blue Notice, seeking the whereabouts of the MP.
Deve Gowda said people had used the harshest words against him and his family. “I will not try and argue with them that they should have waited until all the facts were found out. “I also cannot convince people that I was unaware of Prajwal’s activities. I cannot convince them that I have no desire to shield him. I cannot convince them that I am not aware of his movements and that I was not aware of his foreign trip. I believe in answering my conscience. I believe in God, and I know the almighty knows the truth,” the former PM wrote.
According to a senior SIT officer, the fresh First Information Report (FIR) against Revanna was registered on May 8 in Bengaluru, based on a complaint filed by the woman seen in one of the leaked videos. The woman recorded her statement before a magistrate in Bengaluru on Thursday under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
According to the SIT, the complainant is in her 60s and was rescued from a farmhouse in Kalenahalli village of Mysuru district on May 4.
The SIT alleged that she was kidnapped on the instructions of Revanna’s father and JD(S) MLA HD Revanna.
The first case was registered against Revanna and his father for alleged sexual harassment at the Holenarsipura police station in Hassan district on April 28, based on a complaint by a woman who worked in their house. HD Revanna was arrested on May 4 on the basis of the complaint filed by the woman, but was granted bail on May 16.
Prajwal is accused in three cases, and an arrest warrant was issued against him in one case.
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