Kidnapping case: HD Revanna remanded to judicial custody till May 14
JD(S) MLA HD Revanna remanded to judicial custody till May 14 in kidnapping case linked to sexual abuse allegations against his son. Bail plea hearing postponed.
Janata Dal (Secular) MLA HD Revanna was on Wednesday remanded to judicial custody till May 14 by a court in Bengaluru in connection with the kidnapping case linked to the sexual abuse allegations against his son and Lok Sabha member Prajwal Revanna.
The court’s ruling follows the conclusion of a three-day custody granted to the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is probing the allegations against the JD (S) leaders.
“Revanna was produced before the 17th ACMM court in Bengaluru as his four-day police custody came to an end. Following arguments from both sides, the magistrate ordered Revanna into judicial custody until May 14,” said an official in the know of the development.
Meanwhile, Revanna’s plea for regular bail is slated to be heard on Thursday.
Special public prosecutor Jagadish sought additional time to respond to the bail application, a move labelled as a delaying tactic by Revanna’s lawyer CV Nagesh.
Earlier in the day, the legitimacy of the bail plea hearing was questioned by the special public prosecutor, citing Revanna’s ongoing police custody.
The court deferred the hearing to the afternoon session and during this time the police requested the filing of objections.
“During his court appearance, judge Ravikumar Kattimani queried Revanna about his time in police custody. Revanna alleged that he was deprived of sleep for three days and complained of stomach pain. He maintained his innocence, asserting that the kidnapping case was falsely implicated against him,” the official added.
Following the court proceedings, Revanna was transferred by the SIT to Parapanna Agrahara Central Prison in Bengaluru. SIT had informed the court that Revanna was not cooperating with the investigation and a decision on his further custody will be announced soon, said SIT officials.
Revanna, son of JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda, along with his associate Sathish Babanna, was booked for the purported abduction of a woman on April 29, as per a complaint filed by the woman’s son. Allegations also emerged against Revanna’s son, JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna, regarding sexual abuse, which triggered a wave of controversy.
According to the complaint, Satish Babanna initially convinced the survivor to accompany him under the pretext of a summons from Bhavani Revanna, HD Revanna’s wife. “Babanna dropped my mother at our house on the morning of polling day.
He told my parents not to tell anything to the police if they came to our house and threatened us that we would be booked in a case and asked us to alert him if the police came by,” the complaint said.
However, on April 29, he returned, allegedly forcibly taking the survivor away on his motorcycle, citing potential legal repercussions for the family.
The complainant said his mother worked as a house help at HD Revanna’s house in Holenarsipur and their farm for six years. She left that job three years ago and returned to her village where she used to work as a daily wage worker. The woman was allegedly seen in one of the videos of sexual assault.
Meanwhile, Karnataka home minister Dr G Parameshwara on Wednesday announced that three people have been detained by the Special Investigation Team in connection with the abduction case, bringing the total number of people in custody in connection with the kidnap case to five. Police officials in Mysuru said the recently detained individuals were responsible for holding the survivor captive. However, SIT officials declined to provide additional information regarding these arrests.