Revanna was arrested on May 31.
In another setback for sex crimes accused Prajwal Revanna, a court in Bengaluru has turned down his bail petition.
Hearing the bail plea on Wednesday in connection with a complaint registered at the Holenarasipur police station against the former MP and his father, HD Revanna, the special court for public representatives was told by the special public prosecutor that charges of rape under Indian Penal Code Section 376 had been added to the case. The prosecutor argued that, considering the gravity of the crime, bail should not be granted.
The 33-year-old, who is the grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and nephew of former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, has been suspended by his party, the Janata Dal Secular. He is in the custody of a special investigation team (SIT) that was formed to investigate his alleged sex crimes.
Videos showing Prajwal Revanna sexually assaulting multiple women had begun surfacing on April 23, three days before polling in the Hassan Lok Sabha constituency, from where he was a candidate. As the row escalated, he left for Germany on April 27, a day after voting took place.
An SIT was formed to investigate the charges and a Blue Corner notice was also issued to help trace the MP, but he remained elusive. Finally, after fervent appeals and a warning from Mr Gowda and Mr Kumaraswamy, the JDS leader returned to India and was arrested in the early hours of May 31.
He lost the election in Hassan, results for which were declared on June 4, by a margin of over 40,000 votes.
Revanna’s brother, Suraj Revanna, who is a member of the Karnataka Legislative Council, is also in custody for allegedly sexually assaulting a man.