B'luru cops on alert to arrest Prajwal in rape case

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: Suspended JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna, who is facing sexual abuse charges, has booked a flight to Bengaluru from Munich on May 30 and is expected to land in the early hours of Friday, even as a special court for public representatives rejected his anticipatory bail plea on Wednesday.

The police are on the alert to execute the arrest warrant against the absconding JD(S) leader as soon as he lands at the airport.

According to sources in the Special Investigation Team, the 33-year-old grandson of JDS supremo H D Deve Gowda is expected to land in Bengaluru in the small hours of May 31.

“He has booked a flight from Munich to Bengaluru by Lufthansa Airlines. The flight will leave Munich on Thursday afternoon and land in Bengaluru at 12.05 am on Friday,” an official said.

The SIT is maintaining vigil at the Kempegowda airport here to arrest him as soon as he lands, they said.

The MP, who is seeking re-election as the NDA candidate from Hassan Lok Sabha segment, fled to a foreign country on May 27 soon after news broke out that the Karnataka State Commission for Women requested Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to order an investigation into the huge cache of explicit videos showing several women being sexually assaulted allegedly by him.

So far three cases of sexual assault have been registered against Prajwal, police sources said. Two days ago, the Hassan MP released a video message in which he promised to appear before the SIT on May 31 and cooperate with the inquiry.

The MP cancelled the flight ticket from Germany twice in the past, the sources added. Meanwhile, the SIT conducted searches at Prajwal's residence in Hassan on Tuesday, which went on till late in the night.

"Some incriminating materials have been seized," they said.

As a last ditch attempt to avoid arrest, the Hassan MP moved the Special Court for Elected Representatives here through his counsel on Wednesday seeking anticipatory bail, but it was rejected. Home Minister G Parameshwara said Prajwal will be arrested as soon as he arrives at the airport.

"All measures have to be taken, as a warrant has been issued against him,'' he said.