No anticipatory bail for men who distributed Prajwal Revanna videos: Court

The four accused, some of whom have identified themselves as Congress workers, are at the centre of a scandal involving Prajwal Revanna, who is accused in two FIRs of sexual assault.

The sexual assaults came to the fore after pen drives and CDs were anonymously distributed in Hassan four to five days ahead of the Lok Sabha election in Karnataka on April 26. Prajwal Revanna was the NDA candidate from Hassan.

NSUI members hold a poster of JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna during a protest against his involvement in the alleged sexual abuse case, in Bengaluru. (PTI/File)

Among the accused, Karthik is Prajwal’s former driver who reportedly accessed the videos from devices belonging to the MP while he was employed with him.

The Hassan court, in its order rejecting the anticipatory bail plea of Karthik and three others, noted that “the alleged act of morphing obscene images and videos of a candidate and distributing them to voters… can severely impact the reputation of individuals, specifically the women folk”.

Following the rejection of the plea, G Devaraje Gowda, a Hassan BJP leader, sought the immediate arrest of the four.

Karnataka’s Congress government has ordered a probe by a Special Investigation Team.