Karnataka lawmaker Prajwal Revanna - who fled to Germany last month, shortly after horrific sex crimes allegations by women who said he forced them into sexual acts that were then filmed - released a video statement Monday afternoon, claiming he has been suffering from "depression".
"I apologise to my parents... I was in depression. I will come (back to India) and appear before the SIT (a special investigative team set up by the state government) on May 31 (Friday)," Revanna said.
Revanna is a senior Janata Dal (Secular) leader and the grandson of party patriarch and ex-Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and nephew of ex-Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy.
He is also the sitting MP from Karnataka's Hassan Lok Sabha seat, which he has been nominated to defend in the 2024 general election. The JDS is allied with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP.