Bengaluru: Kannada actress Harshika Poonacha has strongly criticised those circulating sexual assault videos involving Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna.

The actress has claimed that she got a glimpse of one of the 2,976 videos in circulation and said that “it was really painful to watch” those clips. “If the videos are legitimate and real, whoever has created such dirty acts should certainly be taken into account according to the law of the land,” she said in a post on X.

She expressed deep sympathy for the countless women depicted in the videos, stating they appear to be from ordinary, respectable families. She condemned the exploitation of these victims’ faces for political purposes.

However, she expressed anger towards individuals spreading the videos on platforms like WhatsApp and social media, particularly criticising their failure to blur the victims’ faces. She highlighted the long-lasting consequences for these women and their families, emphasising the mental trauma they are likely experiencing.

“The least these people could have done is to have blurred out the faces. How will they face the society in future? From what angle are people going to see them from now on? What about their family and children? Imagine the kind of mental trauma they might be going through now,”                                           she asked.

Demanding strict punishment for those responsible for disseminating the videos, Harshika Poonacha reiterated that they should face consequences equivalent to those who committed the crimes.

She reaffirmed her commitment to advocating for women’s respect, safety and equality, expressing solidarity with the affected families and calling for strength and courage in facing this ordeal.