Bengaluru: A massive conspiracy involving deceit, political rivalry, and elaborate planning led to the leak of obscene videos linked to former JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha elections, culminating in his conviction and life imprisonment, according to a new chargesheet filed by Karnataka police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT).
The 13,712-page document — submitted to a Hassan court last month — names 39 accused following inquiries with 277 witnesses, forensic checks on pen drives, and technical evidence collection, as reported by Deccan Herald.
“Since Prajwal Revanna is already convicted in a case, he has been left off this chargesheet,” the Deccan Herald quoted a source in the prosecution team as saying.
At the centre of the conspiracy is Karthik N (33), Prajwal’s ex-driver and a prime accused. He exploited his closeness to memorise the phone PIN. In one instance when left alone with the device, he transferred the private obscene videos to his own phone and then to a hard drive.
It all began in August 2022 from a dispute with Prajwal’s family over a
13.25-acre plot in Hassan’s Holenarasipura. Karthik surrendered the land and was sacked, sparking vengeance. He teamed up with rival BJP leader Devarajegowda G (accused 8), who warned in a January 2024 press conference to publicly screen the “Rasaleele” (scandals), as noted in the chargesheet.
Prajwal’s auditor, Harish SN (33) and accused 23, who was resentful over unmet promises of a government job from the MP and his kin, also joined the plot. Naveen Gowda (accused 1) started a provocative “teaser campaign” on Facebook on April 10, 2024, hyping the “leak of Prajwal’s videos” with #PenDrive and a cropped portrait of the MP, before erasing the posts.
The scheme peaked on April 20, 2024, in Belur, where the group bought about 70 pen drives for Rs 13,500 from Ram Dev Mobile Communication and loaded them with the videos. To mask their tracks, they handed drives to Prajwal’s staunch foes, stashed others near Bajrang Dal, RSS, and BJP offices, and planted some in public venues like Maharaja Park and the district stadium.
Nishanth MJ (accused 22) hosted political figures at his home “to watch the videos on his home television” and bragged that he had “Prajwal Revanna’s videos.” Most accused hailed from opposing political camps, with a traced money trail bankrolling the effort, the chargesheet revealed. Cover-up attempts have been linked to Sumanth K (accused 24) for smashing a mobile and Chethan YS (accused 6) for trying to incinerate a pen drive in a water heater.