Sexual assault case: Suspended Cong MLA Mamkootathil ‘on the run’ after registration of FIR

Thiruvananthapuram: The sexual assault case against suspended Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil has taken a serious turn, with chilling details emerging from the complainant’s confidential statement to police.

The young woman has alleged that Mamkootathil not only sexually exploited her under the promise of marriage but also forced her to undergo an abortion by sending abortion pills through a friend.

The complainant claimed that she consumed the pills after Mamkootathil allegedly threatened her over a video call, leading to severe health complications.

She reportedly sought treatment from a gynaecologist at a government hospital, which police have now identified.

Based on her statement, police have intensified their efforts to trace Mamkootathil, who is believed to have gone into hiding soon after the FIR was registered at Valiyamala Police Station, here.

Investigators suspect that he may have left Kerala.

His mobile phone, which had remained switched off since her complaint, was switched on in the morning, even as search operations were underway in Palakkad and Pathanamthitta.

Police are also probing a businessman from Adoor, a close associate of Mamkootathil, who is believed to have delivered the abortion pills to the complainant.

The Thiruvananthapuram City Police Commissioner is directly supervising the investigation.

The case, registered as a zero FIR at Valiyamala, has now been transferred to Nemom Police Station, as the alleged offences occurred within its jurisdiction.

The charges include sexual exploitation under false promise of marriage and forced abortion.

Meanwhile, Mamkootathil has reportedly initiated legal steps to secure anticipatory bail.

He held discussions with a lawyer in Kochi and is weighing options to approach either the Thiruvananthapuram District Sessions Court or the Kerala High Court.

Police are set to move the Neyyattinkara Court on Friday to record the complainant’s confidential statement under Section 164 CrPC.

If approved, the statement will be recorded the same day, adding another key layer to a case that is fast turning politically and legally significant in the state.

Top Congress leaders on Friday said that the party had suspended Mamkootathil in August when allegations of a similar nature surfaced. “Now let the law take its course,” said CWC member and veteran legislator Ramesh Chennithala.

Kerala’s first woman IPS officer, who retired from the post of Director General of Police R. Sreelekha and is presently a top State BJP office bearer and also a candidate to the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, wrote in her social media page, “I am always with the survivor, standing only with the truth… The only sadness is – why didn’t she file the complaint earlier? Why didn’t she initiate legal action all this time?”

“And now, the only concern people raise is – why did she directly approach the Chief Minister? Was it to give the accused time to switch off his phone, disappear, and apply for anticipatory bail? Or is it to prevent the arrest of bigger names involved in the Sabarimala gold heist case? I am a mother, and I am a former police officer.. I firmly believe that when it comes to protecting victims, there should never be delay or failure,” wrote the former IPS official.

–IANS