The Karnataka Police, on Friday night, arrested BJP leader and advocate G. Devaraje Gowda in connection with the controversy surrounding the explicit videos allegedly belonging to Hassan JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna.
Devaraje Gowda was arrested at Gulihal toll gate in Chitradurga district for leaking the videos in a pen drive. The arrest came following a tip-off received by the Hassan Police, which wanted his presence for the case.
The BJP leader had categorically rejected allegations that he was responsible for leaking the videos.
The MP, a grandson of former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda, is absconding and a 'blue corner' notice has been issued against him by Interpol. Three FIRs, including charges of rape, molestation, intimidation, blackmailing, and threatening, have been registered against Prajwal.
Devaraje Gowda had contested the 2023 assembly election against JD(S) MLA from Holenarasipura H.D. Revanna, father of Prajwal,
Earlier, the BJP leader had claimed that the pen drive containing the clips was given to the Congress leaders by the former driver of Prajwal Revanna.
He had also claimed that he warned the BJP leadership against allying with the JD(S) as he came to know about the alleged videos from Prajwal Revanna's former driver, Karthik.
"I wrote a letter to our president about the video and gave it to the office, but as he said, the letter had not reached him either. I wrote in the letter that there is no problem in allying with JD(S) but there are serious allegations against him (Prajwal Revanna) of sexual harassment. Karthik, the driver of Prajwal Revanna came to me and said that he was being harassed. He (Karthik) said that he (Prajwal Revanna) has several obscene videos. I asked the driver if he had given this video to anyone. Karthik said that he had given the obscene videos to the Congress president," he had said.
He said realising that the pen drive would create problems, he wrote a letter to the BJP leadership.
"This pen drive will create problems, thinking about this I wrote a letter to the party. This is a communication gap and he got the ticket. Also, it was not the mistake of the BJP as they (JD(S) despite having the intelligence report gave him the ticket."
