The court also imposed a fine of ₹10 lakh on Revanna and announced a compensation of ₹7 lakh for the victim. Revanna, also a former MP, broke down in court as the judge read out the verdict.
Photo: IANS
Expelled JD(S) leader and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda’s grandson, Prajwal Revanna, was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Special Court for People’s Representatives for raping a domestic worker at his family’s farmhouse in Hassan district of Karnataka.
The court also imposed a fine of ₹10 lakh on Revanna and announced a compensation of ₹7 lakh for the victim. Revanna, also a former MP, broke down in court as the judge read out the verdict.
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Earlier on Friday, the court had convicted Revanna in one of the four sexual assault cases filed against him. He was found guilty of raping the 48-year-old domestic worker employed at his family’s farmhouse in Holenarasipura, Hassan. He also reportedly recorded the assault on his mobile phone.
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His conviction comes just 14 months after the case surfaced. The matter came to light last year after controversial videos of Revanna surfaced online ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Initially, Revanna fled to Germany but returned to India days after his grandfather, Deve Gowda, wrote a letter to him, asking him to return and face the law if he had any respect left for him.
A Special Investigation Team probing the case arrested Revanna at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru as soon as he arrived from Germany on May 31.
Earlier, he had applied for anticipatory bail in the Karnataka High Court and the Supreme Court, but it was denied by both courts.
He also lost the Lok Sabha elections from Hassan by over 40,000 votes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had campaigned for Revanna, who was contesting on a JD(S) ticket. The JD(S) and the BJP had contested the Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka in alliance.
After Revanna’s explicit videos surfaced online, the Opposition Congress targeted the Prime Minister for seeking votes for a “mass rapist.”
Following Revanna’s conviction, the Congress on Friday shared an old video of PM Modi seeking votes for him during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
“Prajwal Revanna Declared Guilty in Rape Case. Who is he? A close associate of Narendra Modi. What did he do? Prajwal raped women and recorded nearly 3,000 obscene videos. PM Modi campaigned for mass rapist Prajwal in the Lok Sabha election,” the Congress said.
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