Union Minister Kumaraswamy Links Chief Minister Shivakumar to Hassan Explicit Video Case

Union Minister for Industries H.D. Kumaraswamy has accused Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar of meeting and conspiring with an accused person involved in distributing explicit videos related to former Member of Parliament Prajwal Revanna.

The Allegations

During a press meeting in Bengaluru on November 2, 2026, Mr. Kumaraswamy displayed a Call Detail Record document to support his claims. He stated that Karthik, who is Prajwal Revanna's former driver and the second accused in the video distribution case, visited the residence of Mr. Shivakumar on August 5 and August 6 when Mr. Shivakumar served as Deputy Chief Minister. Mr. Kumaraswamy alleged that both men were responsible for distributing the CDs without masking the faces of women, and asserted that Congress leaders used the issue to destroy his family and stop the Janata Dal (Secular)-BJP alliance. He also questioned how many women received justice in Hassan and alleged that the former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Rahul Gandhi, and Randeep Surjewala were involved in the conspiracy.

Investigation Details

A Special Investigation Team probed the sex crimes involving Prajwal Revanna along with the leak of the explicit videos. The team filed a chargesheet naming 39 persons, with Naveen Gowda as the prime accused and Karthik as the second accused. The chargesheet did not name any politicians.

Context

Call Detail Records are phone network logs that show the date, time, and duration of calls or the location data of mobile devices, and are frequently used in police investigations to establish contact between different individuals. Explicit video leaks and political controversies often spark intense legal and public disputes involving major political parties in Karnataka.