Bengaluru : Thousands of people, including women, social activists, farmer groups, Dalit organizations, sexual minorities, writers, and civic groups, held a protest march seeking the immediate arrest of Janata Dal (Secular) Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, who is accused of sexually abusing several women.

Naaveddu Nilladiddare Karnataka, a network of organisations fighting gender-based violence, organized the ‘Hassan chalo’ march from the Hemavathi statue to the Hassan deputy commissioner’s office.

Revanna, 33, is the grandson of JD(S) patriarch and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda and is the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate from Hassan in the Lok Sabha elections 2024. After obscene videos of Revanna sexually abusing several women came out, he reportedly left for Germany on April 27 using a diplomatic passport. After a victim came forward to file a complaint of sexual abuse, the first FIR was registered against him on April 28.

Revanna is set to arrive in Bengaluru late at night on Thursday after he fled the country following the second phase of Lok Sabha polls on April 26, during which Hassan also voted. The protesters demanded immediate arrest of Revanna and ensure protection for women who were allegedly sexually abused by Revanna. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating the case against him is anyway likely to arrest him upon his arrival.

Revathi, one of the protesters said, “This solidarity rally with victims is important to encourage women to speak up and stand up against the violence they have been subjected to. The protest symbolises the angst of the people against the mental terrorism by the Revanna family that has gripped Hassan for long.”

S Varalakshmi, a labour activist, said, “Revanna should be punished in the most extreme way so that it serves as a wake-up call to other men who use women as products and exploit them for pleasure. During the course of the Lok Sabha elections, when Neha Hiremath was murdered in Hubballi, all the tall leaders from the BJP visited the family and stood in solidarity. But why did nobody from the BJP stand by the women of Hassan who are victims of Revanna’s atrocities?”

The protesters demanded the arrest, prosecution, and punishment of those who publicly shared the victim’s identities through pen drives and social media. They also requested the appointment of special technical officers by the cyber police department to remove inappropriate videos and photos from the internet.