JD(S) MLC Suraj Revanna arrested for sexual abuse of a party worker

Bengaluru: JD(S) MLC Suraj Revanna, the brother of former MP Prajwal Revanna who is facing allegations of sexually abusing several women, was arrested in Hassan on Sunday on charges of “unnatural offences” against him, police said.

He was booked on Saturday for allegedly sexually abusing a male party worker a few days ago, and has been booked under various sections of the IPC, including “unnatural offences”. The investigation into the case has been handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

Following this, Suraj was shifted to Bengaluru from Hassan, and produced before the 42nd Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court (ACMM) judge, at his residence here, who remanded him in judicial custody for 14 days.

Suraj, a doctor, was questioned at CEN police station in Hassan overnight before he was arrested on Sunday morning, police sources said, adding that he was later taken to Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences (HIMS) for medical examination. A 27-year-old man had complained to the police that Suraj Revanna, the eldest son of Holenarasipura MLA and former Minister H D Revanna, sexually abused him at his farmhouse in Ghannikada on June 16. Based on the complaint, the Holenarasipura police registered a case against the JD(S) MLC under IPC sections 377 (unnatural offences), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 506 (criminal intimidation) late on Saturday evening.

However, Suraj Revanna (37), the grandson of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda and the nephew of Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy, has categorically denied the charge. He alleged that the man had filed a false complaint in a bid to extort Rs 5 crore from him.

On Friday, police registered a case of extortion against the JD(S) worker on a complaint by Suraj Revanna’s close

aide Shivakumar.