Claiming that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the sexual abuse case, allegedly involving Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, was not conducting a transparent probe, a Janata Dal (Secular) delegation on Thursday petitioned Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot seeking his intervention to transfer the case from the SIT to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) besides directing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to dismiss Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar from the Cabinet.
“Mr. Shivakumar is the mastermind in the distribution of pen drives containing explicit videos. He is involved in the circulation of 25,000 pen drives at public places in Hassan. He has to be dismissed from the Cabinet. The SIT probe is not objective and shows signs of diverting the whole scandal,” the petition stated. The JD(S) delegation was led by party State president H.D. Kumaraswamy. “Car driver Karthik had stolen photos from Mr. Prajwal Revanna’s phone and was involved in their circulation. He had met the Deputy Chief Minister. Till now, Karthik has not been arrested. An FIR has been filed against Naveen Gowda for circulating the pen drives. The SIT has not arrested anyone so far,” the petition stated.
The petition said the release of videos had caused harm to women victims, who are distressed. “The SIT is conducting the probe with a pre-conceived notion. The conspiracy behind the pen drive distribution has come out in the conversation between BJP leader Devaraje Gowda and Mr. Shivakumar. The SIT is working at the behest of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Mr. Shivakumar to sully the image of the former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and Mr. Kumaraswamy.
Meanwhile, the former Chief Minister clarified that he was not using the Vokkaliga community in the scandal, and that his stand on Mr. Prajwal Revanna remains the same. “Those who have committed crime should face the law of the land. Even if someone is big or is in any political party, they should be punished,” he told presspersons here. He said the order setting up the SIT has its limitation by not including action against those releasing the explicit contents through pen drives. He also criticised Vokkaliga leaders of the Congress, including Ministers and legislators, who had attacked him on Wednesday.
