An MP/MLA court in Bengaluru on Friday convicted suspended Janata Dal (Secular) leader Prajwal Revanna in a rape case of 2021.
The order was passed by Special Judge Santosh Gajanana Bhat. Arguments regarding the quantum of punishment are currently underway. The court is expected to pronounce the quantum of punishment on Saturday.
The former Hasan MP was named as accused in three rape cases and one case related to sexual harassment. This is the first case in which trial has been completed.
The case was registered against Revanna on the basis of a complaint filed by a 48-year-old woman, who earlier worked as domestic help at the Revanna family’s farmhouse in Gannikada, Hasan.
As per the case, Revanna repeatedly raped the maid. The first such incident reportedly took place during the Covid lockdown in 2021.
The woman claimed that she did not speak out about the incident as Revanna recorded visuals of the assault and threatened to leak them.
She eventually quit her job and kept quiet until reports emerged of the visuals of such sexual assault being leaked.
As per reports, over 2,900 videos depicting the sexual assault of several women were circulated online, including on social media.
Following the video leak, the woman filed a complaint against Revanna in 2024. Four such cases were eventually registered against the suspended JDS leader.
Revanna fled to Germany soon after the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in the state, following huge uproar over the videos.
He was arrested upon his return to India on May 31, 2024 and has remained behind the bars since.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) filed its charge sheet in August 2024.
Prajwal Revanna filed an application to discharge him from the case, contending that there was not enough evidence to implicate him in the case.