Prajwal Revanna misused official residence allotted to ex-PM H.D. Deve Gowda

Prajwal Revanna, MP, who is facing sexual abuse charges, allegedly misused the official residence allotted to former Prime Minister and Rajya Sabha member H.D. Deve Gowda in Hassan for his criminal acts.

In a complaint filed against the Janata Dal (S) leader on May 1, a woman alleged that she was raped at his official residence on R.C. Road in Hassan. The residence is located next to the office of the Superintendent of Police, Hassan.

The building has been referred to as “MP’s quarters” by office-bearers of the JD(S). However, this was allotted to the former Prime Minister on his request, when he was representing Hassan in the Lok Sabha.

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When The Hindu contacted Hassan Deputy Commissioner C. Sathyabhama, the official after verifying the files from the Public Works Department (PWD), said that the structure was constructed by the government and was allotted to “former PM and Lok Sabha member” on March 7, 2018. It remained with him. “There has been no fresh order allotting the structure to the current MP, Prajwal Revanna,” she added.

Gowda’s request

Earlier, Mr. Gowda, during his visit to Hassan, would stay at his relative, Kale Gowda’s, place. He had requested the district administration for a suitable accommodation in the city, as he wished to spend more time in Hassan.

The administration chose the PWD quarters, next to the office of Hassan Superintendent of Police, on R.C. Road. By then, the PWD had demolished the old structure, and planned to construct an officer’s quarters. In 2017, the PWD officers were told to allot the same to Mr. Gowda and upgrade the design to suit the requirements of the former Prime Minister.

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Interestingly, it is said, the design was finalised by Mr. Deve Gowda’s son H.D. Revanna, on the advice of a ‘vaastu’ expert. A few parts of the structure were removed to suit the revised design.

After the building was ready, Mr. Gowda used to stay there during his visits to Hassan. He contested for Lok Sabha from Tumakuru in 2019 and lost. A year later, in June 2020, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha.

Mr. Prajwal Revanna, who was elected to the Lok Sabha on the JD(S) ticket in 2019, stayed at the two-storeyed building regularly. He often met party workers there. Former Minister Mr. Revanna regularly met the press in the office.

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Criminal act

The woman, in her complaint, said that in 2021, she visited the ‘MP’s office and quarters’ with regard to admission of girls to a hostel. The accused, Mr. Prajwal Revanna, locked her up in a room and raped her. He allegedly threatened her that he would kill her husband with the gun he possessed if she did not cooperate with him. The Lok Sabha member recorded his act on his mobile phone.

Following the complaint, the Special Investigation Team, probing into the complaints against Mr. Prajwal Revanna, conducted the mahazar at the official residence on Saturday.