Bengaluru/New Delhi: Karnataka Home Minister Dr G. Parameshwara said on Thursday that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) will arrest Prajwal Revanna, the JD(S) MP and prime accused in the alleged sex video scandal, immediately upon his arrival at the airport on Friday. Sources stated that Prajwal is expected to board a flight from Munich at 3 p.m. Thursday and will land at Bengaluru International Airport at 12.30 a.m.
The agencies are closely coordinating with the airline and authorities to monitor Prajwal’s boarding.Sources also revealed that Prajwal Revanna had booked a business-class air ticket with Lufthansa and had not given his contact number and email ID while booking the ticket. The sources further said that the SIT has found that the video of Prajwal Revanna announcing his return on May 31 was uploaded from Budapest, Hungary.
Speaking to reporters here, Parameshwara said the SIT has made all necessary preparations ahead of his anticipated arrival. If he does come, the legal process will commence.“He will be arrested as soon as he lands at Bengaluru International Airport. A warrant has been issued against him as per the law.
Once the warrant is issued, it is the job of the police to arrest him, and they will do their job,” he said. When questioned why Prajwal Revanna had not been arrested earlier, Parameshwara said, “We can’t arrest him in a foreign location. Who told you that we can go there and drag him? Even the Central government can’t just send someone to get him arrested. The purpose of notifying Interpol is for this reason. After being notified, a Blue Corner notice is issued, and there is a procedure to follow. It is not like we can go somewhere within the state and arrest someone.”
Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday cleared the air saying that a show cause notice has been issued to Prajwal Revanna.
Addressing the weekly media briefing in New Delhi, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "MEA has initiated action under provisions in the Passport Act 1967 for revocation of the diplomatic passport of Prajwal Revanna. A show cause notice has been issued to the passport holder on May 23, giving him 10 working days to respond to our notice. We are waiting for a response and will take further action as per the rules".
Earlier, the MEA had said that it has received a request from the Karnataka Government to cancel the diplomatic passport of Prajwal Revanna.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had written a second letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to take prompt and necessary actions to cancel the diplomatic passport of Prajwal, who has been suspended by his party JD (S).
"I write to you once again to draw attention to the grave series of incidents that Prajwal Revanna has been accused of committing. These incidents have not only shocked the conscience of the people of the State of Karnataka but have also caused a nationwide concern,” Siddaramaiah said in his letter to the PM dated May 22.
Earlier, the MEA said that no political clearance was sought or issued by MEA in respect of the travel of Prajwal to Germany.
