Bengaluru, Sep 8 — Karnataka Police are set to take former JD(S) MP, Prajwal Revanna, who is serving a life sentence following his conviction in a rape case, into custody for questioning in connection with the alleged use of a mobile phone inside Bengaluru Central Prison.
It can be noted that Prajwal Revanna is grandson of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, son of JD(S) MLA H.D. Revanna and nephew of Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy.
The authorities took Revanna and another inmate, identified as Pratap, to the Special Court for MPs and MLAs in Bengaluru on Tuesday and produced them before the judge. The police are seeking custody of Prajwal and the other accused under a body warrant to question them in connection with the recovery and use of the mobile phone inside the prison.
The case was registered at the Parappana Agrahara police station after an Android mobile phone, a pen drive and a charger were reportedly recovered from Revanna’s cell at Bengaluru Central Prison.
A purported video showing Revanna speaking on a mobile phone from his VIP cell subsequently surfaced. The video also purportedly showed him availing himself of various facilities inside the prison, prompting the police to register an FIR and launch an investigation into the alleged breach of prison security.
According to the police, Pratap, who was sharing the cell with Revanna, has been named as accused number one, while Revanna has been named as accused number two.
The police are expected to take Revanna into custody by Tuesday evening after obtaining the court’s permission. Pratap is also being produced before the court along with Revanna.
Preliminary investigation has reportedly revealed that an Andhra Pradesh-registered SIM card was used in the mobile phone recovered from the cell.
Revanna has reportedly told investigators that the mobile phone belonged to Pratap, who was staying with him in the cell.
The police are also examining a diary recovered from the cell, which reportedly contained contact numbers of Revanna’s family members and relatives. Preliminary investigation has further indicated that calls were made to some of his relatives using the seized mobile phone.
The police are now expected to question Revanna and Pratap on several aspects of the case, including how the Andhra Pradesh SIM card was obtained, who brought the mobile phone into the prison, how the device and other materials reached their cell and whether prison security protocols were breached.
Investigators are also probing whether anyone inside or outside the prison assisted in providing the mobile phone or SIM card.