The complainant, who accused former Youth Congress state president and suspended MLA Rahul Mamkoottathil of sexual assault and criminal intimidation, has recorded her secret statement before the Neyyattinkara Judicial First Class Magistrate.
A day earlier, she submitted a formal complaint to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, based on which Kerala Police registered a fresh case against the MLA. He has been charged under BNS 64 (rape), BNS 89 (forced abortion without the woman’s consent), BNS 115 (voluntarily causing hurt), BNS 351 (criminal intimidation), and Section 66C of the IT Act (identity theft and misuse of digital data). These include non-bailable offenses that carry punishments ranging from 10 years to life imprisonment.
Police believe the offenses took place across at least three locations. The first assault allegedly occurred in March. The woman was assaulted twice at a flat in Thiruvananthapuram and once at a flat in Palakkad. On May 30, he allegedly gave her the pills used to terminate the pregnancy. The pills were delivered by Rahul’s friend Joby. She was made to consume them, and Rahul confirmed over a video call that she had taken them. The FIR also states that Rahul recorded nude visuals after the assault and used them to threaten her. Rahul is currently absconding, and the police have issued a lookout circular.
With Kerala headed to local body polls on December 9 and 11, multiple Congress leaders allege that the timing of the complaint is politically motivated. Some of them pointed to the complainant’s decision to approach the chief minister directly, while others pointed out that the move was orchestrated to divert attention from the Sabarimala gold-theft row.
Congress leaderRamesh Chennithala said he stands by his earlier position and that the law should take its course. He pointed out that while two senior CPI(M)-affiliated leaders were arrested and jailed in the Sabarimala gold-theft case without any action from the CPI(M), the Congress acted against Rahul the moment allegations surfaced. “The party will not extend any support to Rahul,” he said.
There are also suspicions within the Congress that the Palakkad BJP’s interests are also reflected in the timing of the complaint. Palakkad municipality is currently ruled by the BJP, and Rahul had started door-to-door campaigns for several wards in Palakkad municipality.
Palakkad DCC president A. Thankappan questioned why the complainant waited until now. “Why didn’t she file a complaint for three months?” he asked, noting that the controversy first surfaced in August. He also alleged that the complaint may be intended to distract from the Sabarimala gold-smuggling case or to deflect anti-incumbency ahead of the elections. However, Thankappan insists the Congress has maintained a consistent distance from the suspended MLA.
Former KPCC president K. Muraleedharan added that the Congress will intensify its attack on the LDF government over the Sabarimala issue in the wake of these developments, while senior leader Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan echoed UDF convenor Adoor Prakash's statement that controversies of this nature routinely surface before elections.
However, some Congress leaders believe Mamkoottathil’s own conduct after his suspension invited the present episode. Kasargod MP Rajmohan Unnithan said Rahul challenged both the complainant and the media and used PR machinery to attack even Congress leaders, and that the party acted only after finding merit in the complaint. He noted that after being removed from the Parliamentary Party, Rahul continued to appear in the Assembly and openly challenged the party.
Notably, a section within the Congress itself was clearly unhappy with the way Mamkoottathil resumed political activity with a business-as-usual attitude. And Youth Congress leader Sajana B. Sajan recently submitted a complaint to the AICC against Mamkootathil.
Meanwhile, Mamkoottathil has submitted his petition for anticipatory bail in which he argues that the victim did not file the complaint with her local police jurisdiction but filed it before the chief minister of Kerala, which demonstrates political interest. In the anticipatory bail petition, the young MLA maintains that the relationship between him and the complainant was consensual. He also maintains that the victim herself took the tablet for a miscarriage.
Mamkootathil also maintains that the victim is a married woman cohabiting with her husband, continuing a valid marriage. Even if the victim is pregnant, the liability is on her husband as said in section 116 of BSA. Another argument in the petition is that the complainant has been working with a political-party backed channel and that this channel asked her to file a complaint against the young MLA.
He too questioned the timing of the case, saying, “During the election time, the government is facing serious allegations on Sabarimal gold theft” and added that “In order to turn the public attention, this controversy was made with the help of BJP.”
