Rahul Mamkootathil is a Kerala legislator (MLA) from the Palakkad constituency who has been expelled from the Indian National Congress party amid multiple allegations of sexual misconduct and assault. He rose to prominence as a youth leader and was elected in a by-election last year. However, his political career has since gone downhill as he landed in controversy due to multiple rape and sexual assault allegations levied against him, which have drawn intense media and public scrutiny.
On Sunday night, Mamkootathil was arrested by Kerala police in Palakkad in connection with a third sexual assault case registered against him, according to Kerala police. He was taken into custody from a hotel in Palakkad around midnight and later shifted to a police camp in Pathanamthitta. The arrest follows a complaint filed by a woman from Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district, and the same Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the earlier two cases has been given the latest case as well.
Mamkootathil has been accused of rape previously
This latest case marks the third sexual assault complaint filed against Mamkootathil. In the earlier allegations, he was accused of rape and coercing a woman to undergo an abortion, among other charges. According to reports, in one case, a woman alleged that Mamkootathil had invited her to a hotel, sexually assaulted her and then allegedly forced her to undergo an abortion.
Following the original allegations and court actions, the Congress party suspended and then expelled him from its primary membership in December, after his anticipatory bail plea was rejected by a court. The party leadership cited the severity of the complaints and the legal actions underway as reasons for removing him from party positions.
Mamkootathil to be produced before a magistrate
Despite a Kerala High Court granting him interim protection from arrest in one case and a sessions court in Thiruvananthapuram granting Mamkootathil anticipatory bail in another. Now after the third complaint, there has been a fresh arrest without such protections. Police have taken him into custody pending further legal proceedings, and he is expected to be produced before a magistrate soon.
After this series of allegations, there has been a huge uproar in politics as the opposition leaders and activists have criticised the party’s handling of the matter. Police have said that the investigations are going on and more details will be shared soon.
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