Efforts on to bring sex abuse accused MP back: Karnataka minister

Bengaluru: Efforts are being made to bring Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna back to India, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said on Friday. Prajwal is facing criminal charges of sexual abuse against women, PTI reported.

The Minister asserted that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case was functioning efficiently.

The 33-year-old Prajwal, who is the grandson of JD(S) patriarch and former PM H D Deve Gowda, is facing charges of multiple instances of sexually abusing women.

The scandal has raised a political storm, with the ruling Congress and BJP-JD(S) engaged in a slugfest.

Prajwal reportedly left for Germany on April 27 and is still at large.

He was the BJP-JD(S) alliance's candidate from the Hassan Lok Sabha segment, which went to polls in the first phase on April 26.

"Procedures are on until we secure him, bring him back here and take action in accordance with the law; they will continue. We will neither slow it nor stop it," Parameshwara told reporters on questions about Interpol's Blue Corner Notice that was issued against Prajwal.

On BJP alleging that the government was "responsible" for Prajwal's "escape" from the country, the Minister said, "They will say it, they have to say such things. They cannot say the government is doing a good job. But we have a responsibility as a government. Such incidents cannot be taken lightly. We will do our job."

Accusing the Congress government of trying to tarnish the reputation of Deve Gowda's family instead of ensuring justice to victims of the alleged sex videos scandal case involving Prajwal, JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy had recently alleged that every bit of information on the investigation is being sent to a Congress MLA of Mandya district, but not the Home Minister.

Reacting to this, Parameshwara said: "Kumaraswamy is also well aware of several things we cannot bring to the public domain because the investigation is on. Who will brief the Mandya MLA? Making such allegations is easy. We all have a responsibility, and we are functioning with responsibility, and we are not under any compulsions."

"I want to tell him (Kumaraswamy) that SIT is working efficiently, and whatever they have to brief me or the Chief Minister, they will brief. Let there be no doubts about it," he said.