No evidence against rape survivor in Suraj Revanna extortion case: CID

Bengaluru: The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has stated that there is no evidence to support the extortion allegations filed against the sexual assault victim in the case involving expelled JD(S) MLC Suraj Revanna.

In its B-report submitted to a special court in the city, the CID concluded that the extortion case lacks merit.The case originated last year after a close associate of Suraj Revanna, who is the grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, lodged a complaint with Holenarasipur town police, alleging that a man was attempting to extort money from Suraj. The accused in that complaint was the same individual who had, just days earlier, filed a rape case against Suraj, accusing him of subjecting him to unnatural sex.Shortly after the man accused Suraj of raping him, a second case was filed by Suraj’s henchman, Shiva Kumar. In his complaint, Kumar explained that the complainant was trying to extort Suraj to settle the rape case. However, findings by the CID show that the second case was a stage-managed one. “It is clear that Suraj persuaded his henchman Shiva Kumar to urge the complainant to demand some amount so that the rape case registered against him (Suraj) can be settled,” reads the B report submitted to the special court for elected representatives in the city.

Regarding the rape case, the CID has already filed a chargesheet with the special court. It accuses Suraj of committing the offence under section 377 (Unnatural sex) of the then Indian Penal Code. According to sources, the chargesheet mainly contains the statements from the survivor and the witnesses corroborated with electronic evidence, thus strengthening the allegations.Suraj was arrested on June 22, 2024, following the complaint made by the survivor with Holenarasipur Rural police.

The victim, a 27-year-old male worker of the JD(S), stated in his complaint that “Suraj raped me on June 16, 2024, inside the family’s Gannikada farmhouse in Holenarasipur. When I brought the matter to the notice of Shivakumar, the latter asked me to keep quiet and promised a good future with a job and money from Suraj,” read the complaint.Shivakumar later filed the attempt- to-extort case against the survivor. Both cases were transferred to the CID. Suraj was lodged in the judicial custody of the Central Prison, Bengaluru, for around a month before walking out on bail in the last week of July.