The Congress in Kerala on Saturday suspended party MLA Eldhose Kunnappilly, who faces charges of rape and attempt-to-murder, from the Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) and District Congress Committee (DCC) for six months. The party said that the explanation given by the MLA on the allegations against him were not satisfactory.
"The explanation provided by him on the allegations were not satisfactory. As a representative of the people, he failed to exercise due diligence," it said in a statement.
The two-time legislator, who was absconding ever since police filed an FIR against him, had appeared before the media on Friday, a day after a local court granted him anticipatory bail. He expressed confidence that he could prove charges against him as wrong in the court and could come out clean.
Besides rape and attempt to murder, the Congress MLA has also been charged with assault following a complaint from the alleged victim who stated he had abducted and manhandled her.
Kunnappilly's personal assistant and a friend have also been booked in the case. The victim claimed that Kunnappilly offered her Rs 30 lakh to settle the case registered against him.
While granting him advance bail on Thursday, the Thiruvananthapuram sessions court had directed the MLA to submit his phone and passport and hand over the log-in details of his social media accounts to the investigation team. The court also banned him from leaving the state.
Kerala police registered a case against the Perumbavoor MLA on October 11. However, he was “untraceable” since then.
On Saturday, police filed a fresh against Kunnappilly for allegedly revealing the name of the victim, reports said.
