Former MP and Janata Dal (Secular) leader Prajwal Revanna, currently serving life imprisonment in one of the rape cases filed against him at Holenarasipura Rural Police Station in Karnataka, is facing fresh scrutiny after a mobile phone was recovered from his jail cell during a recent search operation at Bengaluru’s Parappana Agrahara Central Prison.
The raid, conducted by the Central Crime Branch (CCB), was part of a broader drive targeting high-profile inmates. Following further investigation, officials reportedly found between 80 and 90 downloaded pornographic videos on the device, India Today reported. The clips were largely Indian pornographic content, and newspaper cuttings of women in revealing clothing were also found stored on the phone.
A detailed forensic analysis of the device is underway to trace the origin of the video files, images, and other digital data stored on it. Investigators are also examining whether the material has any bearing on the ongoing criminal proceedings against Revanna, who is the grandson of former Indian Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda.
Prison Official Suspended Over Phone’s Presence
The incident has triggered strict disciplinary action against Assistant Superintendent Iranna Rangapur, who has been suspended on the recommendation of the DIG (South), with authorities citing alleged dereliction of duty. A show cause notice has also been issued to the Superintendent of Bengaluru Central Prison. A departmental inquiry has been ordered to determine how the mobile phone entered the prison and remained inside the barrack undetected.
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What’s the Case Against Revanna, and How Many?
Revanna faces a total of four cases involving charges of rape and sexual assault. On August 1, he was convicted in a case where a 48-year-old woman, employed as house help at his family’s Gannikada farmhouse in Karnataka’s Hassan district, alleged that she was raped twice in 2021, with the act filmed by Revanna.
Following his conviction, Revanna claimed that the woman only filed a complaint after certain videos were circulated, and alleged that she had not raised the matter of the alleged rape with her husband or family members.