Identities out after Prajwal Revanna clips, many women leave home amid fear, stigma

“The entire district is in H D Revanna’s control. You speak ill about them and chances are high that it will reach them, because the family and the party have a large following,” said a shopkeeper in Hagare, a village 20 km from Hassan city.

The Indian Express visited three towns and five villages in the district, and spoke to several residents. None of them wanted to be named.

Suspended JD(S) leader Prajwal Revanna. (Express Photo)

The first FIR against Prajwal was filed on April 28, based on the complaint of a woman whose family has now left their home. “The woman worked at Revanna’s house as a house help. Some of her videos started to circulate and then, her house was seen locked. We don’t know when she left,” said a neighbour.

In a nearby village, where a former zilla panchayat member who filed a rape case against Prajwal lived, a local JD(S) leader said many woman who worked for the party earlier are now incommunicado. “We noticed many of the party women deleting their photos with Prajwal on social media. In some instances, men are questioning their wives about their association with the MP. It is shattering the lives of many women in the district,” he said.

In her complaint, the zilla panchayat member alleged that she was raped for three years, and videos were recorded. She has since left her home. “She was here on April 24… The videos came out the next day…. Since then, we have not seen the family,” a local leader said.

With the video clips revealing the women’s identities, several other families have also left Hassan.

Revanna was among the two accused in a case filed at K R Nagar, Mysuru district, where the complainant alleged that his mother was kidnapped to keep her from approaching the police over alleged sexual assault by JD(S) MP and Revanna’s son Prajwal Revanna. (Express photo by Jithendra M)

When an SIT team reached the Revanna residence, party workers gathered outside were heard talking about the women. “I know this woman, she lived close to our residence and was very active in JD(S) activities. Her house is locked… she has small children,” said one. “She is my neighbour’s relative and attended one of our family functions,” said another.

“It was really wrong to reveal the faces of the women. I know some of them, and they have gone into hiding. We don’t know whether they can return,” a shopkeeper said. He said these families didn’t want to file cases as “it is impossible to survive in Hassan while fighting a case against Revanna’s family”.

While many local JD(S) leaders expressed shock at the videos, some also sympathised with Deve Gowda. “What Prajwal did is an unpardonable crime. Deve Gowda built his political legacy by sacrificing more than four decades of his life, and it just collapsed by Prajwal’s criminal acts,” said a party worker.

In Paduvalahippe village, where Deve Gowda cast his vote, a JD(S) leader said the party did not campaign after the video clips started circulating. “The youth in this constituency had the videos on their mobile phones. How can we face people and ask them to vote for Prajwal?” he asked.

A farmhouse of the Deve Gowda family in Hassan where some of the videos were allegedly recorded. (Express Photo)

The village is home to a large farmhouse, fortified with an eight-foot wall, which the SIT also visited. According to a police officer, Prajwal often visited the farmhouse, where some of the videos were allegedly recorded. A police constable stands guards outside.

“Prajwal used to come here with friends and party, but we don’t know anything other than that,” said an employee, refusing to speak any further.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a police officer said the district intelligence unit was aware of the video clips, but didn’t know of the magnitude of the issue. “The pen drive in question has been doing the rounds before the Karnataka Assembly elections in 2023, but the videos did not come out at the time,” the officer said.

Prajwal had got a gag order from the Bengaluru civil court on June 1, 2023 against 86 media outlets and three private persons in connection with the video clips. One of the private persons was advocate and local BJP leader G Devaraje Gowda. Prajwal’s former driver, Karthik, has said that he shared the pen drive with Devaraje Gowda.

“In January this year, Devaraje Gowda had called a press conference where it was speculated that he would release the videos, but the press conference was abruptly cancelled,” the officer said, adding, “Until the videos started to come out, all we knew was there could be a sex video of Prajwal Revanna, but not that this pen drive contained more than 2,900 files involving multiple women.”