Janata Dal-Secular leader Suraj Revanna, the brother of Prajwal Revanna who is facing charges of sex crimes allegations by multiple women, has alleged that he is being threatened with a false case of sexual assault by a man in Karnataka’s Hassan.

The complaint has been filed by Suraj Revanna’s friend Shivkumar against two men. Shivkumar alleged that Chethan and his brother-in-law approached him and demanded Rs 5 crore, threatening that he would file a sexual abuse case against Suraj Revanna if their demands were not met.

Shivkumar said that Chethan had first approached him to help him find a job. Shivkumar gave him Suraj Revanna’s number and asked him to contact Suraj.

But he started blackmailing Shivkumar and Suraj after he failed to get a job, the complaint said.

Soon after the case was filed, Chethan also appeared on a private channel and that he had been sexually abused by Suraj at a farm house.

This comes days after former JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna was sent to judicial custody. The 33-year-old grandson of JD(S) patriarch and former PM H D Deve Gowda had failed in his bid to retain the Hassan parliamentary constituency in the recent polls.

The cases of sexual abuse came to light after pen-drives containing explicit videos allegedly involving Prajwal Revanna were reportedly circulated in Hassan, ahead of Lok Sabha polls there on April 26.

JD(S) suspended him from the party following the cases filed against him. The BJP has distanced itself from Revanna and the investigation. Its state unit boss, S Prakash, said, “We, as a party, have nothing to do with the videos and neither do we have any comments to make…”

A police case has also been filed against his father, HD Revanna, for allegedly kidnapping a woman who said she had been raped by both men. The father, a former MLA and Public Works Department Minister, was given bail in the kidnapping case on May 14 and the sexual assault case after that.

New Delhi:

BJP leader G Devaraje Gowda was late Friday taken into custody in connection with a sexual assault case. He was taken into custody near Hiriyur while he was traveling from Bengaluru toward Chitradurga, police said.

A case of sexual harassment was registered against Devaraje Gowda on a complaint by a 36-year-old woman, who alleged that he molested her on the pretext of helping her sell her property.

Gowda, who contested the 2023 Karnataka assembly election against Prajwal’s father and Holenarasipura MLA HD Revanna, is also accused of leaking videos of JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna’s alleged sexual abuse of several women. He, however, has blamed the Congress for leaking the videos.

Gowda had also alerted the BJP leadership last year about Prajwal Revanna’s alleged sexual abuse and asked the party not to give a Lok Sabha ticket to the JD(S) leader from Hassan. The BJP, which formed an alliance with the JD(S) last year, however, decided to field Prajwal from Hassan.

The sex scandal had come to the fore a day after the Hassan Lok Sabha constituency went to the polls on April 26. Videos began doing the rounds showing multiple women being sexually assaulted. The 33-year-old politician can also allegedly be seen sexually abusing women in some of the videos. 

Prajwal Revanna, who is the grandson of former prime minister and JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda, left for Germany the day the videos emerged, and was later suspended by the JD(S). A blue corner notice, which asks Interpol member states to help locate a person, has been issued against him.

Three FIRs, including charges of rape, molestation, intimidation, blackmailing, and threatening, have been registered against him.

His father, HD Revanna, is currently in jail on charges of kidnapping a woman, a mother of three.

New Delhi:

After the Janata Dal (Secular) joined the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the Congress on Friday said the “B-team of the BJP” in Karnataka has officially become part of the coalition.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said their assertion made during the recent Karnataka assembly poll campaign in this regard has been vindicated today.

“What the Congress had repeatedly said throughout the Karnataka election campaign has been officially vindicated today. The B-team of the BJP in the state – JD(S) – has officially become part of the NDA, that too a day following the most nakedly communal attack by a BJP MP on a former senior JD(S) leader in the Lok Sabha,” Mr Ramesh said on X.

Mr Ramesh was referring to BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri’s objectionable remarks against Danish Ali, who is now in the Bahujan Samaj Party.

In a boost to the BJP in Karnataka ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the JD(S) decided to ally with the party following a meeting of its leader HD Kumaraswamy with Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda.

After the meeting, Mr Nadda said on X, “I am happy that JD(S) has decided to be the part of National Democratic Alliance. We wholeheartedly welcome them in the NDA. This will further strengthen NDA and vision of Hon PM Narendra Modi Ji for ‘New India, Strong India’.” 

Headed by former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, the JD(S) has long been a strong third player in the southern state where the Congress and the BJP have been the two main parties. The regional party came third in the recent assembly polls in the state, where the Congress scored a big win. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Bangalore:

Former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, who has recovered from a stroke due to timely treatment, said on Sunday that this was his “third birth”.

Giving credit to God and the team of doctors who treated him, the JD(S) second-in-command said he got a new lease of life to be amidst the people of the state.

Before being discharged, Mr Kumaraswamy also appealed to the people not to take the symptoms of stroke and paralysis lightly.

“For the past five days, some of my friends were in fear. If I am talking to you, then I must say that I got a rebirth,” the former chief minister said.

“With regard to my health, God has given me a third birth. If a person gets one birth, in my case I am of the opinion that in my 64 years of age, I got my third birth,” he added.

Mr Kumaraswamy was hospitalised in the early hours of August 30 at a reputed hospital in the city.

Doctors treating him said he had had a stroke, which was then cured completely.

Recalling the turn of events that led to his hospitalisation, the JD(S) leader said he woke up at about 2 am on August 30 and felt his health was not in good condition.

The JD(S) leader said he quickly called his brother-in-law and eminent cardiologist Dr C N Manjunath and later consulted a neurologist who advised him to get admitted.

Mr Kumaraswamy appealed to the people of the state not to waste even a single minute whenever they come across such symptoms.

“I sensed the symptoms of paralysis at 2 am. If had ignored it and said I will go to the doctor in the morning, I would have spent the rest of my life permanently on the bed,” he said.

He said never think that doctors are working to make money because when the patient comes, they sincerely make an effort to save them.

Speaking on the occasion, eminent neurologist and former director of NIMHANS Dr P Satishchandra said people should be aware of the ‘BE-FAST’ method to detect a stroke — where B stands for Balance, E for Eyes, F for Face, A for Arms, S for Speech and T for Time.

“These are the five symptoms. If there is less strength in the arm, if one lisps or stammers, if there is difficulty in eyes, if there are changes in the face, then without wasting time rush to a hospital,” he said.

It is also important to take the patient to the right hospital, Dr Satishchandra added. He said the hospital where the patient is taken should be stroke ready.

“It should be a hospital which has all the equipment and experts required for treating stroke patients. Then we get the time. We call it the ‘golden hour’, which means the patient should be brought within three hours. Once the patient is brought within three hours, we get one hour to start our other works,” the doctor explained. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)