Pramesh S Jain
Three officers of the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which investigated the sexual abuse cases against former Hassan MP and JD(S) leader Prajwal Revanna, have been selected for the Union Home Ministry’s Grihmantri Kendriya Dakshata Padak-2026 in recognition of their investigative work.
The awardees from Karnataka are Inspector Shobha M., the investigation officer in the case;Assistant Sub-Inspector,Rathnamma K.;and Civil Police Head Constable Balakrishna Y.
The SIT was constituted by the State government in 2024 following the circulation of videos allegedly showing Prajwal Revanna sexually abusing several women,ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
The team was headed by B.K.Singh,then Additional Director-General of Police,Criminal Investigation Department.
Four FIRs were registered against Prajwal in connection with the allegations. In a significant development,he was convicted in the first case in 2025,little over a year after the investigation began,and sentenced to life imprisonment.
The trials in the remaining three cases are under way.In January 2026,the State government announced a cash reward of Rs.25 lakh for the SIT personnel in recognition of their work.
The announcement had drawn criticism from former Prime Minister H.D.Deve Gowda and Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy.
The three SIT officers have now received national-level recognition through the Union Ministry of Home Affairs’ medal.
Three other police inspectors from Karnataka, Bavuddeen Rukmuddeen Gaddekar,Manjunath and M. Srinivasa Rao and Deputy Director,Regional Forensic Science Laboratory (RFSL), Mysuru,was honoured for his contributions to scientific investigation.
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