Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, who is facing allegations of sexually abusing several women, used his diplomatic passport to travel abroad, and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take swift action to cancel it.
In a letter to Modi, he also asked the PM to take other steps such as using diplomatic and police channels of the Government of India as well as international police agenciesto ensure the swift return of the "absconding" member of parliament to face the full force of the law.
The 33-year-old Prajwal Revanna is the son of H D Deve Gowda's elder son H D Revanna, who is an MLA and a former minister.
Prajwal is the BJP-JD(S) alliance's candidate from Hassan, which went to the polls on Friday.
Explicit video clips allegedly of Prajwal Revanna sexually abusing several women had started making the rounds in Hassan in recent days, following which the state government constituted a SIT to investigate the crime allegedly involving the MP.
"According to reports, sensing the impending police case and arrest, the accused Member of Parliament and NDA candidate for Lok Sabha Prajwal Revanna has fled the country and travelled abroad on April 27 itself. It is learnt from reports that he is travelling abroad on his diplomatic passport," Siddaramaiah said.
He said that while the SIT is working round the clock to investigate the allegations of crimes against several women by Prajwal Revanna, getting him back to the country is of utmost importance so that he faces investigation and trial as per the law of the land.
"In this regard, this is to urge you kindly to move the Ministries of External Affairs and Home Affairs to take swift action to cancel the diplomatic passport of Prajwal Revanna and to take such other steps using diplomatic and police channels of the Government of India as well as international police agencies to ensure the swift return of the absconding Member of Parliament to face the full force of law," the CM said in the letter.
The SIT of Karnataka will provide all the necessary details and fulfil all the legal formalities required in this regard, he added.
JD(S) on Tuesday suspended Prajwal Revanna from the party following the allegations.
Stating that there is a serious case of alleged sexual exploitation of innumerable women by Prajwal Revanna, Siddaramaiah said the allegations that the MP and NDA candidate for Hassan Lok Sabha is facing are "horrific and shameful" and these have shaken the conscience of the country.
"Our Government has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT), on April 28, under the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and investigation has begun in right earnest. Constitution of the SIT was done as soon as the true nature of the alleged crimes against several women emerged and the victims came forward to file complaints against Prajwal Revanna and an FIR was lodged on April 28," he added.
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