A magistrate court on Sunday ordered the judicial custody of Janata Dal (Secular) MLC Suraj Revanna for a period of 14 days concerning a sexual assault case filed by a party worker. Suraj Revanna, who is the sibling of former Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, recently apprehended in sexual assault allegations, was taken into custody earlier in the day at the Cyber Economic and Narcotics Crime (CEN) police station in Karnataka's Hassan district. His visit to the station was in connection with a blackmail case he and his acquaintance, Shivakumar, had filed against the complainant.
Sources indicate that Hassan SP Sujeetha Mohammed instructed senior officials to attend the police station, culminating in a four-hour process leading to Suraj Revanna's arrest.
The allegations against the JD(S) MLC surfaced when a party worker filed an FIR on Saturday, accusing Suraj Revanna of sexually assaulting him at his farmhouse on June 16. However, Suraj Revanna vehemently refuted the accusation, alleging that the complainant had fabricated the complaint to extort Rs 5 crore from him. He had lodged a counter-complaint regarding this matter a day before the sexual assault allegation was made.
According to the complaint by the JD(S) worker, Suraj Revanna had invited him to his farmhouse on June 16, where he allegedly forcibly kissed and bit his lips and cheeks. The complainant further alleged that Suraj threatened him with harm if he did not comply, and subsequently sexually assaulted him, claiming he would assist the complainant's political growth in the district. The complainant also mentioned texting Suraj about the incident afterwards, to which Suraj reportedly replied, "Don’t worry, everything will be fine."
The Holenarasipura police registered a case against Suraj Revanna under Sections 377 (unnatural offences), 342 (wrongful confinement), and 506 (criminal intimidation) based on the complaint.
Notably, Suraj Revanna's brother, Prajwal, is currently incarcerated in relation to separate sexual assault cases. Prajwal Revanna, who was the NDA Lok Sabha candidate from Hassan, fled the country on April 27 after multiple videos purportedly depicting him sexually harassing several women surfaced. He was subsequently arrested by SIT officials upon his return from Germany on May 31.
In another twist, Prajwal Revanna's father, HD Revanna, was also arrested last month in connection with cases of sexual harassment and kidnapping. He was released on bail shortly after his arrest.
