Prajwal Revanna sent to police custody for two days over mobile phone use in prison

A Bengaluru court on Tuesday sent former MP Prajwal Revanna to police custody for two days in connection with the alleged use of mobile phone inside Parappana Agrahara Central Prison where he lodged for rape case.

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Sandeep Patil passed the order after hearing the prosecution and defence.

Prajwal Revanna, who represented the Hassan parliamentary constituency from 2019 to 2023, is serving life sentence after being convicted of rape in August 2025.

The present case stemmed from a raid conducted by Central Crime Branch (CCB) which allegedly led to recovery of mobile phones and other digital devices from Revanna.

According to the complaint, the CCB recovered a Redmi 5G smartphone, a blue packet notebook, a charger and a SanDisk pen drive from a high-security barrack during a raid conducted on August 11. Revanna allegedly claimed that the notebook belonged to him.

The police claimed that they found Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Netflix, Prime Video and other applications installed on the smartphone. The device was password-protected and was subsequently sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory for examination.

According to the prosecution, phone was allegedly being used to communicate with Revanna's family members and lawyers and the SIM card was procured from Andhra Pradesh.

The police registered a case for fraudulent concealment of property under Section 323 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and for offences under the Karnataka Prisons (Amendment) Act, 2022.

Assistant Public Prosecutor Satish Rao submitted that prison officials and staff have also been made accused in the case and that the investigation is required to determine how a mobile phone, charger and other articles came into the possession of the accused.

He argued that the accused cannot be properly interrogated in prison and hence, sought their custody for the purpose of investigation.

Advocate Arun G, appearing for Revanna, opposed the plea. He submitted that the Parappana Agrahara police station is located opposite the prison and that the police could go there and conduct the investigation instead of taking Prajwal into custody.

After hearing the submissions, the Court directed that Revanna and another accused Prathap Rai be sent to police custody for 2 days.

The case will be heard next on September 10.