Whistleblower in Prajwal Revanna sexual abuse case Devaraje Gowda booked for molestation

Bengaluru: A case of sexual harassment has been registered against BJP leader G Devaraje Gowda from Hassan, who had written to the saffron party leadership before it formed an alliance with the JD(S), flagging Prajwal Revanna’s alleged sexual abuse of several women, police said on Friday.

The FIR was registered against Devaraje Gowda, who is an advocate, on April 1 but it has come to light only recently after his whistleblowing in the Prajwal Revanna case.

Devaraje Gowda was the one who had alerted the BJP leadership last year about Prajwal Revanna’s alleged sexual abuse of several women, and cautioned the saffron party not to give a Lok Sabha ticket to the JD(S) MP from Hassan.

Prajwal Revanna is the grandson of former prime minister and JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda, and is the BJP-JD(S) Lok Sabha poll candidate from Hassan.

The BJP entered into an alliance with the JD(S) last year.

Devaraje Gowda, who contested the 2023 assembly election against Prajwal’s father and Holenarasipura MLA H D Revanna — also accused in a case of molestation and another for abduction — had blamed the Congress leadership in Karnataka for leaking the sexual abuse videos.

Devaraje Gowda has been booked on a complaint by a 36-year-old woman from Hassan district, who alleged that he molested her on the pretext of helping her sell her property.

The BJP leader was not available for comment.