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Bengaluru Court Extends Prajwal Revanna’s SIT Custody Until June 10

A Bengaluru court on Thursday extended the custody of Janata Dal (Secular) Member of Parliament (MP) Prajwal Revanna with the Special Investigation Team (SIT) until June 10. This extension was granted by Special Magistrate KN Shivakumar following an application by the SIT, which is investigating charges of sexual abuse against Revanna. Previously, on May 31, the court had remanded him to a 7-day SIT custody, which was due to end on June 6. The allegations arose from the circulation of over 2,900 videos depicting the sexual assault of multiple women, some of which appeared on social media.

The case against Prajwal Revanna and his father, HD Revanna, was initiated on April 28 when an FIR was registered under Sections 354A (sexual harassment), 354D (stalking), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 509 (insult to modesty of woman) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Holenaraseepur town police station in Hassan district. This action followed a complaint by one of the victims. Amidst the ensuing public outrage and political turmoil, Prajwal Revanna fled to Germany shortly after the April 26 Lok Sabha elections in the state. He returned to India on May 31, when he was arrested. Prior to his return, he had sought anticipatory bail in connection with the three cases related to the sexual abuse allegations against him.