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Bengaluru: All India Mahila Congress President Alka Lamba on Monday accused the BJP and JD(S) of being silent over the alleged sex scandal involving Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna and said the horrifying case of violence against women has shocked the nation.

"More than 3000 videos with hundreds of women being sexually harassed, violated and even brutalised by MP Prajwal Revanna over the past few years have shaken the conscience of Kannadigas and Indians alike," she told at a press conference here.

Prajwal (33) is grandson of JD(S) supremo and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda. JD(S) joined the NDA in September last year. He was the NDA candidate in Hassan Lok Sabha constituency, which went for polls on April 26.

According to police sources, he left the country after voting was over.

The Congress government in Karnataka on Sunday constituted a Special Investigation Team to probe the alleged sex scandal.

Some explicit video clips allegedly involving Prajwal had started making the rounds in Hassan in recent days.

Lamba said the horrifying case of sexual violence against hundreds of women has shocked the nation.

"These acts of sexual brutality against hapless women has revealed the depravity of MP Prajwal Revanna, but the silence and sheer apathy of the BJP and JDS in this horrendous case is absolutely shameful," she said.

She alleged that in these videos, some recorded against the consent of the victim, women are seen pleading to be spared but the MP continues to brutalise and sexually violate them. Party 'karyakartas', panchayat members, elderly women, women who came asking for help to him and even maids have not been spared.

"The horrible fact is, that the acts of this sexual predator MP Prajwal Revanna was endorsed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he campaigned in Old Mysuru Region on April 14th, 2024," she alleged.

"....the BJP JDS are still silent which shows you their true Anti Woman DNA!! Will the BJP or JDS answer?".

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday attacked the BJP over the obscene video case in Hassan district by questioning who gave the accused Prajwal Revanna a visa to go abroad. He also hit out at Union Minister Amit Shah asking why did he gave a ticket to Hassan JD(S) MP Prajwal, who is the accused in the sex scandal case. 

He alleged that former Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda planned the escape of his grandson and Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna abroad. 

“Who gives passport and visa for travelling abroad? It’s the Centre. Can he go without the Centre’s knowledge? It was former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda who planned and sent him abroad,” the Chief Minister said.

"Prajwal pen drives case is not related to DCM DK Shivakumar. Why did Amit Shah give a ticket to the accused of a sex scandal?" he questioned.

Siddaramaiah also wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to direct the Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs to cancel the Diplomatic Passport issued to Prajwal Revanna and ensure his return to face the law.

Prajwal is accused in an alleged sex scandal which is under investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Karnataka government. He is believed to have escaped to Germany shortly after polling in the first phase of elections in the state got over on April 26, in which Prajwal was the JD(S)-BJP combine's candidate from Hassan. 

The Karnataka CM said that SIT will conduct an investigation in a transparent manner in the case.

Earlier, Siddaramaiah wrote on X, "The government has decided to form a special investigation team in connection with Prajwal Revanna's obscene video case. Obscene video clips are circulating in Hassan district, where it appears that women have been sexually assaulted."

Mangaluru/Udupi: The Dakshina Kannada and Udupi-Chikmagalur Lok Sabha constituencies recorded a tentative voter turnout of 77.4% and 76.1% respectively until 6 pm on Friday. In the 2019 polls, Dakshina Kannada recorded 77.9%, while Udupi recorded a 75.8% voter turnout.

The DK Lok Sabha constituency recorded a poll percentage of 71.8% at 5 pm. Among the constituencies, Sullia recorded a maximum of 78.4%, followed by Belthangady at 75.6%, Puttur at 75.2%, Bantwal at 73.7%, Mangalore at 73.5%, Mangalore City North at 69.8%, and Mangalore City South at 61.8%.

Urban apathy continued, with Mangalore City South recording the lowest polling percentage.

Meanwhile, Banjarumale, a remote village in Belthangady taluk, recorded 100% polling with all 111 voters showing up two hours before polling ended at 6pm.

Another interior polling station at Elaneer in the same taluk recorded 82% polling at 4 pm. The booth has 471 voters. The district has a total of 18,18,127 voters, with 9,30,928 females, 8,87,122 men, and 77 transgender individuals.

A good number of people turned out to vote during the early hours. Voters are bearing the scorching sun while stepping out to exercise their franchise as heat wave is sweeping through the state. 

The polling process remained largely peaceful, with long queues observed at polling stations from 7 am onwards in several polling stations. However, technical glitches caused delays at a polling station in Karopady, and at St. Xavier School Bejai, where polling was reportedly delayed by nearly two hours.

Polling staff at a booth near the Mulki police station mistakenly marked the wrong finger with ink during voting. They reportedly applied ink to the index finger of the right hand. According to sources, at least 50 individuals had their index finger of the right hand inked. Deputy Commissioner Mullai Mulihan clarified, "The matter was promptly addressed by the sector office. This error affected 8-9 voters"

A total of 18.18 lakh voters in the Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha constituency and 15.85 lakh in Udupi-Chikmagalur hold the power to determine the fate of candidates competing for their respective segments. The polling process is currently underway across 1,876 booths in Dakshina Kannada and 1,842 polling stations in the Udupi-Chikmagalur segment.

In Dakshina Kannada, a closely contested battle is anticipated between Captain Brijesh Chowta representing the BJP and Padmaraj R Poojary from the Congress. Meanwhile, in the Udupi-Chikmagalur constituency, Kota Shrinivas Poojary of the BJP and K Jayaprakash Hegde of the Congress are the prominent contenders.