Udupi: Class 10 student who killed self in quarantine tests negative for covid

Bengaluru: In a shocking revelation, a former member of Hassan Zilla Panchayat (ZP) has accused incumbent JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna of raping her multiple times over three years and videographing the alleged crime.

A case was registered by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) based on the statement by the 44-year-old survivor on Wednesday, May 1.

According to the First Information Report (FIR), the woman claimed that when she was a ZP member she used to visit the MLAs and MPs for various development works.

In one such instance in 2021, she met Prajwal seeking his help to get hostel seats for some female students at a local college. The woman, in her statement, said that since the MP was busy, she was asked to meet him the next day.

“The following day I visited the MP at his office and the MP's quarters in Hassan. The staff present there told me to wait on the first floor as there were many others in the hall. Prajwal spoke to some of the women waiting there, spoke with them and sent them off until I was the only one left,” the woman alleged.

As per the survivor, the MP then called her inside a room and she obliged.

“He held my hand, pulled me inside and locked the door. When I asked him why was he closing the door, he told me nothing would happen and made me sit on the bed. He said my husband should talk less and warned me of the consequences. He also said that because of my husband, his mother, Bhavani Revanna, missed the MLA ticket. He told me that if my husband wants to grow politically, I should listen to him [Prajwal],” the woman alleged.

Next, Prajwal allegedly told the woman to lie down on the bed and undress. When the woman refused and said that she would shout, Prajwal allegedly threatened her that he had a gun and warned of dire consequences for her and her husband.

The woman alleged that Prajwal took out his mobile phone and then raped her.

“He raped me and sexually assaulted me and recorded the act on his mobile phone,” the woman alleged. “He threatened to leak the video if I ever spoke about it and told me to be there whenever he wanted. After that, he used to video call me frequently, ask me to be naked during the call and raped me in multiple instances.”

The woman claimed that she was scared and did not make the incident public and chose to come forward after she learnt of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up by the Karnataka government to probe the alleged Hassan sex scandal.

A case was registered under Sections 376(2)(n) (commits rape repeatedly on the same woman), 506 (criminal intimidation), 354A(1)(physical contact and advances involving unwelcome and explicit sexual overtures), 354B (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe) and 354C (voyeurism) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 66E (violation of privacy) of the Information Technology (IT) Act.

Prajwal is also accused in a sexual harassment case along with his father, Holenarasipur MLA HD Revanna, registered at the Holenarasipur police station in Hassan on April 28. 

New Delhi: Even though Prime Minister Narendra Modi's nasty election speech in Rajasthan's Banswara has triggered a nationwide controversy, the Election Commission has so far not taken any action. Meanwhile the Opposition bloc INDIA called the speech an attempt to divert attention from "real issues".

Addressing the people Banswara, on April 21, (Sunday) Modi openly attacked India’s Muslims, suggesting they were “infiltrators” and went on to claim that the opposition if elected would give away “mangalsutras” and “land” of those listening to his speech to them (Muslims). 

He referred to his immediate predecessor, Dr Manmohan Singh who was in office for 10 years as prime minister till 2014, and said, “Earlier, when his government was in power, he had said that Muslims have the first right on the country’s property, which means who will they collect this property and distribute it to – those who have more children, will distribute it to the infiltrators. Will the money of your hard work be given to the infiltrators? Do you approve of this?” 

Modi went on to say, “This Congress manifesto is saying that they will calculate the gold of the mothers and sisters, get information about it and then distribute it. Manmohan Singh’s government had said that Muslims have the first right on property. Brothers and sisters, these urban Naxal thoughts will not let even your mangalsutra escape, they will go this far.”

Narendra Modi and the BJP so far in their campaign trail have invoked religious faith, the Ram temple and Lord Ram multiple times, directly using it to call for people to vote for them. The Election Commission has been completely silent on the messaging via videos, tweets and other exhortations. 

Did Manmohan Singh really say that?

Modi’s claim that Dr Singh said that is not new and was refuted in 2006 itself by Singh’s PMO, when Modi had first made the false claim. The PMO had termed such remarks, “a deliberate and mischievous misinterpretation of what the Prime Minister said here yesterday at the meeting of the National Development Council, on fiscal priorities of the government.” It was termed “an avoidable controversy has been generated. The Prime Minister’s observations have also been quoted out of context in some sections of the electronic media, fuelling a baseless controversy.”

The full text of the paragraph in which the Prime Minister referred to the issue of minority empowerment to clarify the matter is as follows:

“I believe our collective priorities are clear: agriculture, irrigation and water resources, health, education, critical investment in rural infrastructure, and the essential public investment needs of general infrastructure, along with programmes for the upliftment of SC/STs, other backward classes, minorities and women and children. The component plans for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes will need to be revitalized. We will have to devise innovative plans to ensure that minorities, particularly the Muslim minority, are empowered to share equitably in the fruits of development. They must have the first claim on resources. The Centre has a myriad other responsibilities whose demands will have to be fitted within the over-all resource availability.”

The PMO’s clarification said. “it will be seen from the above that the Prime Minister’s reference to “first claim on resources” refers to all the “priority” areas listed above, including programmes for the upliftment of SCs, STs, OBCs, women and children and minorities.

Opposition reacts

Chairman, Media and Publicity department of the Congress, Pawan Khera said in a video message in a post, “We challenge the Prime Minister to show us if the word Hindu or Muslim is written anywhere in our manifesto. This kind of lightness is there in your mentality, in your political values. We have talked about justice for the youth, women, farmers, tribals, middle class and workers. Do you object to this as well?”

Khera was referring to earlier mistruths uttered by Modi about the “Muslim League” having influenced the Congress manifesto.

In Jharkhand’s Ranchi at an opposition rally, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is reported to have said by BBC Hindi, “If democracy and the Constitution end in the country, then the people will have nothing left. Babasaheb Ambedkar ji and Jawaharlal Nehru ji gave equal voting rights to everyone, due to which all classes got respect. But Narendra Modi wants to snatch their rights from the poor.”

B.V. Srinivas termed it as unfortunate that “this person is the Prime Minister of this country, and an even bigger tragedy is that the Election Commission of India is no longer alive.” He said that “due to the frustration of impending defeat, the Prime Minister of India is openly sowing the seeds of hatred, he is polarising by misquoting Manmohan Singh’s 18-year-old incomplete statement, But the Election Commission (Modi ka parivar) is bowing down.”

Modi’s past hate-speech

Modi, in his 12-year tenure as chief minister of Gujarat was known to have made speeches targeting the state’s minority Muslim community brazenly, terming camps where Muslims were forced to stay in after communal violence gripped the state in 2002. Frontline covered him on his Gujarat Gaurav Yatra started shortly after the violence, at a rally at Becharaji in Mehsana district in northern Gujarat, when he said, “What should we do? Run relief camps for them? Do we want to open baby-producing centres? But for certain people that means hum paanch, hamare pachees.” 

In 2017 it was time again for direct speech targeting Muslims when in February he spoke of ‘shamshaan versus kabristan’ campaigning for UP and then for Gujarat elections when the BJP had its worst performance this millennium, in a speech at Palanpur on December 10, 2017 Modi invoked a “secret meeting” to get Pakistan to fix Gujarat’s assembly polls. He said that a meeting was held at Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar’s residence, attended by former PM Manmohan Singh, former Vice-President Hamid Ansari, former Army Chief Deepak Kapoor and distinguished diplomats to execute the plot. Modi’s PMO faced embarrassment when in response to an RTI filed by the Congress, his office was forced to say that Modi’s campaign speech could have been based on an “informal input”.

In the only question he has answered as part of a press conference with Joe Biden on June 22, 2023, Modi was asked, “India has long prided itself as the world’s largest democracy, but there are many human rights groups who say that your government has discriminated against religious minorities and sought to silence its critics.  As you stand here in the East Room of the White House, where so many world leaders have made commitments to protecting democracy, what steps are you and your government willing to take to improve the rights of Muslims and other minorities in your country and to uphold free speech?”

In response Modi appeared visibly frazzled and denied all charges. “I’m actually really surprised that people say so.  And so, people don’t say it.  Indeed, India is a democracy.” 

The journalist was trolled online by BJP leaders and supporters to such an extent that the White House had to come out and defend her and strongly denounce the trolling and abuse.

Mysuru, Apr 29: Veteran politician and incumbent Chamarajanagar MP V Srinivas Prasad breathed his last at 76.The stalwart BJP leader, who had been battling health issues, succumbed to a severe heart attack, leaving behind a void in Karnataka's political arena.

A Dalit leader in the Old Mysuru region, Prasad was in Congress but joined the Bharatiya Janata Party before the 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections following a fallout with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The two had recently met in Mysuru and discussed the political scenario in the state.

Prasad extended support to the Congress in the Lok Sabha election 2024 and this is being seen as a crucial factor in the SC-reserved Chamarajanagar constituency, which Prasad represented in Parliament. On April 2, Prasad’s relatives and supporters joined Congress.

He served as a Union minister from 1999 to 2004 as the Loka Jana Shakthi MP. In the Karnataka Assembly elections, he was elected twice as an MLA and served as the state’s revenue minister.

Prasad, known for his distinguished political career spanning over five decades, was admitted to Manipal Hospital in Bengaluru due to urinary tract-related complications and age-related ailments.

However, his condition deteriorated rapidly, leading to his untimely demise in the wee hours of Monday.

Born on August 6, 1947, in Ashokapuram, Mysuru, Prasad's political journey was marked by significant milestones. He represented Chamarajanagar constituency as MP for an unprecedented seven terms and had derved as MLA from Nanjangud constituency twice.

He had held key ministerial portfolios including Minister for Food and Civil Supplies in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government and Minister for Revenue and Muzrai in the Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka government.

He had joined the BJP officially in December 2016 and was elected as MP from Chamarajanagar again in 2019, showcasing his enduring popularity among constituents.

Prasad's demise has plunged the political fraternity and his supporters into mourning. His family members, political associates, and well-wishers are gathering to pay their final respects as his mortal remains are being transported from Manipal Hospital to his residence in Jayalakshmipuram, Mysuru.

The Exhibition Grounds in Mysuru will witness a stream of mourners as Prasad's mortal remains will be kept for public viewing, allowing people from all walks of life to bid farewell to their beloved leader.

Prasad's name had come up in the 'Tehelka tapes' controversy, after the sting operation by magazine Tehelka to expose defence deals under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government. The tapes showed Samata Party leader Jaya Jaitley allegedly telling an arms dealer to deposit money with Prasad, who was then in Bengaluru. However, Prasad denied these claims, saying he was in Mysuru at the time, and also sued Tehelka for defamation.