The special investigation team would arrest JDS MP Prajwal Revanna, accused in a sex scandal, upon his arrival from Munich at the Bengaluru airport early Friday, Karnataka home minister G. Parameshwara said on Wednesday.
Prajwal had on Monday released a video saying he would appear before the special investigation team (SIT) at 10am on May 31, ending a long wait for some information on the absconding sitting JDS MP from Hassan accused in multiple sexual abuse cases.
Since a city court has already issued an arrest warrant against him, it would be impossible for him to step out of the airport without being arrested.
“He will have to be arrested there (at the airport) since there is a warrant against him,” Parameshwara told reporters on Wednesday.
The home minister’s clarification coincides with reports that Prajwal has booked himself on a Lufthansa flight from Munich to Bengaluru on May 30 that would land at 12.30am on May 31.
The 33-year-old grandson of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda is facing allegations of sexual abuse from multiple women. Two cases have been filed against Prajwal based on complaints lodged by survivors.
The state women’s commission and police have been asking more survivors to come forward and lodge complaints since several others were allegedly subjected to sexual abuse by the MP, who is contesting from the same seat this time as well.
Prajwal’s legal team on Wednesday filed an anticipatory bail plea before a city court and sought a hearing on Thursday. It’s not yet clear if the court would allow the plea for an immediate hearing.
The sex scandal came to public attention after pen drives containing 2,976 files, including sexually explicit pictures and video clips, some of them amounting to rape, were found discarded in Hassan just days before polling on April 26. Prajwal is accused of fleeing the country in the small hours of April 27.
In the nearly three-minute video message released on Monday, Prajwal blamed the Congress for delaying his return since the party and its leaders “started discussing the allegations in public fora”. He claimed that he slipped into depression because of that and went into isolation.
Through a message on X on May 1, Prajwal had shared a message, along with a copy of the letter from his lawyers to the police, seeking seven days to appear before them.
