The evidence trail in the Prajwal Revanna sexual assault case

When videos allegedly showing Prajwal Revanna sexually assaulting women first surfaced, the country was gripped by outrage. This public anger emboldened five women to file complaints against the former Janata Dal (Secular) MP and grandson of ex-Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda. However, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Karnataka police, formed on April 27, 2024, faced a challenging task. Despite there being around 2,000 video clips showing various women, Prajwal’s face was not visible in any of them. The videos, shot on a mobile phone, were focused on the women. All that was visible of the man shooting the video were his hands and his penis. While the five women, including a mother-daughter duo, provided detailed statements to the police, securing additional evidence was crucial to proving Prajwal’s involvement in the assaults.

TNM has obtained details from all three chargesheets, which police officers assert present a strong case against the former MP. One chargesheet says that DNA found on a survivor’s saree could emerge as an incriminating piece of evidence. In two cases, the SIT did forensic image comparison to confirm that the genitals visible in the video belonged to Prajwal. However, in another case, the video was too brief to make such an identification.