Prajwal Revanna ‘sex video’ case: 7 times prominent politicians were booked for ‘crimes against women’ in India

Janata Dal (Secular) Member of Parliament (MP) Prajwal Revanna, embroiled in a scandal over obscene videos allegedly involving him, has been booked by Karnataka police after an accusation of sexual harassment by a woman who worked as a house help at his home.

The woman, 47, has also named Holenarasipur MLA HD Revanna, Prajwal’s father, as an accused. The case has been registered at Holenarasipur police station in Karnataka’s Hassan district.

Revanna, the grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, and whose father, HD Revanna, is a former minister, is seeking another term in the Lok Sabha from Hassan seat. The constituency went to polling in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections on April 26. JD (S) is an ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) in Karnataka.

Revanna filed a complaint on April 28, claiming the viral videos are “morphed” and are being circulated to “tarnish his image and poison the minds of voters”

Also Read: Prajwal Revanna ‘used to call women in storeroom, remove saree pins’: Victim shares ordeal in ‘sex scandal’ case

This is not the first time that a politician in India has been accused of crimes against women. India has a history of influential politicians being accused of sexual crimes.

134 parliamentarians booked for sexual crimes

As many as 134 sitting members of parliament (MP) and members of legislative assemblies (MLA) have cases related to crimes against women, which includes 21 MPs and 113 MLAs, according to an August 2023 report by election watchdog Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR ). The ADR analyzed 762 sitting MPs and 4,001 sitting MLAs.

Among parties, BJP had 44 politicians (MPs and MLAs) against whom cases of “crimes against women” have been registered. This included seven BJP MPs. The Congress had 25 followed by AAP with 13 sitting MPs or MLAs who have declared cases related to crimes against women.

Here are some prominent politicians who have been accused of sexual crimes in the past, before Prajwal Revanna.

Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh – January 2023

Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, the sitting Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament from Kaiserganj in UP, is facing accusations of sexual harassment. Six top women wrestlers accused against him in an FIR. The allegations pertain to Brij Bhushan’s term as President of Wrestling Federation of India.

Also Read: Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Will Brij Bhushan contest from UP’s Kaiserganj? Ex-WFI chief says he’s ‘strong contender…’

Last week, a Delhi Court dismissed Singh’s application seeking further investigation in the sexual harassment case. The court is scheduled to announce its decision on the framing of the charges against the BJP MP in the case on May 7.

Karan Morwal – September 2022

In 2022, Karan Morwal, the son of former Badnagar Congress MLA Murli Morwal, was expelled by the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) for six years due to rape charges filed against him. Karan was arrested in October 2021 after a woman lodged a rape complaint against him at the women’s police station in Indore. On March 6,2024, Karan posted pictures of himself with Digvijay Singh and other Congress leaders.

Kuldeep Singh Sengar – June 2017

Former BJP MLA from Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, Kuldeep Singh Sengar, has been convicted of rape, murder, attempt to murder, criminal conspiracy and criminal intimidation. The case dates back to June 4, 2017, when the woman, then 17, was allegedly raped by Sengar. In August 2019, he was expelled from the BJP. On April 3, 2018, the victim’s father was allegedly framed in an illegal arms case and subsequently arrested. On April 9, 2018, he died in judicial custody.

Gayatri Prasad Prajapati – 2017

Gayatri Prasad Prajapati, who served as the mining minister during the Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh, was accused in 2017 of gang-raping a woman over a period of three years. In 2021, Prajapati was sentenced to five years in jail by the Allahabad High Court. Currently, Prajapati remains in jail.

MJ Akbar: October 2018

Former Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar resigned from his post on October 17, 2018, amid a growing number of sexual allegations made against him during the #MeToo movement. Akbar, a former journalist, had joined the BJP in March 2014. Prior to that, he served as a Congress MP from Kishanganj in Bihar between 1989 and 1991.

Also Read: Prajwal Revanna case: ‘Videos morphed’, Deve Gowda’s grandson claims

Akbar was first accused by journalist Priya Ramani, who had written about him in an article she authored for Vogue a year prior, without mentioning his name, in October 2018.

Purushottam Naresh Dwivedi – November 2010

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Purushottam Naresh Dwivedi was charged with raping a girl in his house in Banda district in December 2010. Dwivedi served as a BSP MLA from Naraini in Banda, UP from 2007-12.

The Uttar Pradesh government, led by Chief Minister Mayawati, ordered the registration of an FIR against Dwivedi, who was subsequently sentenced to jail in 2011. Dwivedi was lodged in Banda district jail but was later granted bail in 2015.