Rape case: SIT files closure report against Gowda grandson, court rejects it

BENGALURU: A special court for elected representatives in Bengaluru on Tuesday rejected the ‘B report’ — a case-closure report citing insufficient evidence to substantiate the allegations made in a complaint — filed by SIT, stating that there was not enough proof to clear JDS MLC Suraj Revanna of the charges of raping a man.This was the second of two rape cases filed against Suraj, the grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and nephew of Union minister H D Kumaraswamy. In the first case, in which he is accused of raping a party worker, the SIT has filed a chargesheet. In the second case, a co-accused from the first case filed a police complaint alleging that he, too, was subjected to unnatural sex by the MLC. Recently, the victim in the second case filed a protest petition before the special court challenging the SIT’s closure report. Allowing the protest petition, special judge K N Shivakumar directed the SIT to continue the investigation and submit a fresh report by Dec 29.According to sources, SIT filed the closure report as it did not come across scientific or electronic evidence to establish charges.