Bengaluru:The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the obscene video case involving former MP Prajwal Revanna, grandson of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, on Wednesday filed a 13,712-page chargesheet in the case.
Charges have been framed against 39 accused persons, and the list includes workers associated with both the BJP and Congress.
The detailed charge sheet has been submitted to the Senior Civil Court in Hassan in connection with the distribution of pen drives containing the alleged obscene videos. According to the SIT, the names of 52 persons were mentioned during the course of the investigation, but charges have been established against 39 individuals.
The investigation was initiated based on a complaint filed by advocate Poornachandra, who had served as a JD(S) agent during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The SIT has stated in the charge sheet that the accused had purchased around 70 pen drives in Hassan to distribute the videos. The investigation team recorded statements from 277 witnesses during the probe.
According to officials, the charges have been framed based on technical evidence and reports from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL).
Among those named in the charge sheet are A1 (accused one) Naveen, A2 Karthik N., who worked as the driver of Prajwal Revanna, A3 Chetan B.C., A4 Chetan Y.S., A5 Likhith Gowda, A6 Devarajegowda, and others.
The SIT has also stated that the videos were allegedly recorded on mobile phones without the consent of the women involved and were later circulated through pen drives and mobile phones.
Officials said some of the accused had shared the videos with others through their mobile phones, which further led to the circulation of the content during the Lok Sabha election period.
The investigation team has now completed its probe and submitted the charge sheet before the Hassan court.
It may be noted that four separate cases have been registered against Prajwal Revanna, who is facing charges of rape and sexual harassment, and the SIT was tasked with probing the cases.
The cases came to light after pen drives containing explicit videos allegedly involving Revanna were reportedly circulated in Hassan ahead of the Lok Sabha polls on April 26, 2024.
The Karnataka High Court had refused to suspend former JD-S MP Prajwal Revanna’s life sentence in a rape case, citing the gravity of the offences, multiple pending cases, and the risk of witness tampering.
Prajwal Revanna, who was arrested in May 2024 after returning from Germany, has challenged the court judgment on several grounds, including what he claims are contradictions in the survivor’s testimony and inconsistencies in the evidence produced by the prosecution.
A special court that convicted Revanna had sentenced him to imprisonment for the remainder of his life and imposed fines in one of the four sexual abuse and rape cases against him.
IANS
