Prajwal Revanna’s brother Suraj arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a male party worker | Indiablooms

New Delhi/Bengaluru: Janata Dal-Secular leader Suraj Revanna, the elder brother of Prajwal Revanna, against whom several women have accused of sexual crimes, has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a male party worker.

An FIR has been filed against Suraj Revanna based on a complaint by the 27-year-old party worker who accused the JD(S) leader of sexually harassing him at a farm in Karnataka’s Hassan district on June 16.

Suraj Revanna has since denied the allegations and claimed that the man filed a false complaint against him after refusing to pay him Rs 50 million.

On Saturday, Suraj Revanna’s friend Shivkumar also filed a police complaint, alleging that the JD(S) worker had also approached him earlier this month and demanded Rs 50 million, threatening that he would file a sexual abuse complaint against Suraj Revanna if his demands were not met.

Shivkumar said the man initially approached him to help him find a job. Shivkumar gave him Suraj Revanna’s phone number and asked him to contact Suraj.

However, he started blackmailing Shivkumar and Suraj after he didn’t get the job, the complaint said.

Suraj’s arrest came days after former JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna was remanded in custody. The 33-year-old grandson of JD(S) patriarch and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda failed in his bid to retain the Hassan parliamentary constituency in the recent elections.

The sexual abuse cases came to light after USB sticks containing explicit videos allegedly involving Prajwal Revanna were reportedly circulated in Hassan ahead of the Lok Sabha elections there on April 26.

JD(S) suspended him from the party following the proceedings against him. The BJP has distanced itself from Revanna and the investigation. Its state president S Prakash said: “We as a party have nothing to do with the videos and have no comment to make on them…”

In addition, his father, HD Revanna, was charged with allegedly kidnapping a woman who said both men raped her.

The father, a former MP and minister of public works, was released on bail on May 14 in the kidnapping case and subsequently in the sexual assault case.