Bengaluru: A Bengaluru court on Friday sent rape-accused JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna in the Special Investigation Team's custody until June 6.
The SIT produced the lawmaker before the 42nd Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) in connection with the Hassan sex abuse case. He is accused of raping at least two women, including a former maid in her 60s, and sexually harassing another.
SIT officials arrested Prajwal soon after he landed at Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) from Munich, Germany, at 12.53 am on Friday. He had reportedly fled abroad after sleaze videos related to the case surfaced during the April 26 Lok Sabha elections in southern Karnataka.
After spending the night in a holding cell at the SIT office at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) headquarters in Bengaluru, Prajwal was taken to Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital in Shivajinagar for a medical checkup and later produced before the magistrate.
Arguing on behalf of the SIT, Special Public Prosecutor Ashok Naik sought Prajwal's police custody for 14 days. Prajwal’s advocate Arun G said no rape charges were mentioned in the initial FIR filed against his client until May 5 and opposed the police custody.
Countering this, Naik said there were "several pieces of evidence" against Prajwal and demanded his police custody. In his final submission, Arun said one day of police custody was sufficient for interrogation and requested the court not to remand Prajwal for more than a day.
After hearing arguments from both sides, Judge Shivakumar reserved the order, and after an hour's break, remanded Prajwal in police custody.
Prajwal was then taken back to the SIT office. Well-placed sources said that the SIT would begin the investigation process as early as Saturday.
"A spot mahazar (recreation of the crime scene) will be conducted, followed by other investigating procedures," the source told DH, adding that a potency test on the MP might also be held.
On Friday morning, Prajwal’s counsel Arun visited him at the SIT office before he was taken for a medical examination. He told reporters that Prajwal was extending "full cooperation" to the SIT. "Kindly don’t do any media trial, that’s his [Prajwal’s] request to the media," Arun said.
"He says there be no conviction before a proper hearing from his end. I request and appeal to all media, especially English as well as Kannada — you have your work to do but let it not infringe on any of his legal rights," he said.
According to Arun, the SIT had shown the MP’s arrest in the first case of sexual harassment registered on April 28 at the Holenarasipura Town police station. In the same case, Prajwal’s father and Holenarasipura MLA HD Revanna was named as accused 1. Both are accused of sexually harassing a 47-year-old former house help.