How a mole on finger led to Prajwal Revanna‘s arrest in multiple rape cases

Prajwal Revanna, former MP and Janata Dal (Secular) leader, was sentenced to life imprisonment for raping his house help. The Hassan PM and the grandson of former Indian PM H D Deve Gowda were booked in a huge scandal during the Lok Sabha election in 2024, where more than 2,900 explicit videos of him with multiple women got leaked. The scandal broke when pen drives containing the explicit videos began circulating in Hassan and nearby districts. Revanna ensured that his face was not captured in any of the videos. But what led to his arrest in India’s one of the biggest sex scandals was a mole. Revanna has a mole on his middle finger and also has a scar on his left hand. While he filmed the act of sexually assaulting multiple women, his face was not visible, but his mole and scar were captured on camera. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) launched a probe into the case and found this clue that led the team to arrest the former Hassan MP.

The officials who were investigating the case said in court that “global best investigation practices” were used to gather evidence in the cases, and DNA tests helped them in securing the conviction.

One of the investigating officers told the Deccan Herald, “The woman (Revanna’s house help) had left behind the petticoat at the servant’s quarters at the farmhouse where she was raped. We combed the farmhouse and found the petticoat in a cupboard. Semen traces on the petticoat matched those of Prajwal, and the woman’s DNA traces were also found on it. Nobody had touched the petticoat, though three years had passed since the incident. Semen traces deteriorate when there is humidity and moisture in the air. But, in this case, the fluid depositions on the petticoat were intact and that was the icing on the cake for the investigators.”

Revanna was sentenced to life imprisonment

The former MP was sentenced to life imprisonment in one of the four rape cases filed against him on Saturday (August 2). Moreover, the court also imposed a penalty of ₹1 million on him. The court said that the victim will be given a compensation of ₹7 lakh. The special court announced the judgement on Saturday (August 2) against the Hassan MP, just a day after he was proven guilty for sexually assaulting his house help.

However, Revanna pleaded in court and claimed that he did nothing wrong. He said that his fast growth in politics was his “only mistake” that led him to his conviction in the rape case. Revanna reportedly broke down in the court when the judgment was announced and said that the women who complained against him were "purposefully" brought forward by the prosecution, and did not volunteer to do so.

"They say that I have raped multiple women, but none of the women have come out voluntarily to complain; they came six days before the election (Lok Sabha polls last year)...the prosecution side brought them purposefully and made them give a complaint," the convicted MP said, PTI reported.