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The Congress expelled Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkoottathil from the primary membership of the party after he was denied bail in a sexual harassment case on October 4 Thursday. The MLA, who is currently absconding, is an accused in two separate rape cases.
The party announced the decision soon after the Thiruvananthapuram District Sessions Court dismissed Rahul’s anticipatory bail plea in the first case registered by the Valiyamala police. Police registered the second FIR on December 3 based on a complaint filed by a non-resident Keralite to the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC). A special team led by Thiruvananthapuram Crime Branch DYSP Sajeevan is in charge of the investigation.
The move marks the party’s strongest action so far against the legislator, who has been absconding since the case surfaced. The Congress that resisted the move till now, with many of its leaders directly and indirectly lining up to support Rahul, eventually saw that there was no option left. Women leaders who were part of the Youth Congress too had started speaking up against Rahul.
Meanwhile, the prosecution submitted additional digital evidence during the in-camera hearing before Judge S Nazeera on December 3. Rahul’s interim plea for protection from arrest was rejected on December 4.
With the court refusing anticipatory bail, the Congress acted on its earlier assertion that it would wait for judicial orders before initiating disciplinary steps.
Rahul is likely to surrender before the police today, with unconfirmed reports suggesting he may present himself before a court in Kasaragod or Kannur.
KPCC state president Sunny Joseph said the party’s disciplinary process was completed only after an approval from the AICC.
“Rahul Mamkoottathil has been removed from the party with the approval of the AICC. The delay was technical because we wanted the approval from AICC too. It is better he resigns from his MLA post. When the allegations came, we suspended him from the party, removed him from the Youth Congress president post. After we received a formal complaint, we transferred it to the police and have now removed him from the parliamentary party,” he told the media.
Rahul has been missing since the first FIR was filed on November 28, following a detailed complaint submitted by a woman to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan the previous day.
The Valiyamala police registered an FIR listing charges including rape, causing miscarriage without consent, criminal intimidation and offences related to the unauthorised recording and sharing of private images. Investigators later added his associate Joby Joseph as a second accused for allegedly helping procure and administer abortion pills. A lookout circular was issued to prevent Rahul from leaving the country, a rare step against a sitting MLA.
Police also filed a second FIR in a complaint filed by a 23-year-old woman, who alleged that Rahul had raped her after promising to marry her. In the complaint filed to KPCC, the woman stated that she resisted his advances and told him she needed time, but he ignored her objections, claiming such intimacy was “natural.” She said the incident left her traumatised and she suffered a panic attack. She further alleged that Rahul later withdrew his promise, saying his political career would not allow him to prioritise family life. The complaint has been handed to the Special Investigation Team.
Rahul had resigned as Youth Congress president in August after Malayalam channels aired audio clips and chat records in which women accused him of coercion and misconduct. Despite the allegations, he remained active in local body poll campaigns until the first FIR was filed. He subsequently went into hiding and approached the Thiruvananthapuram court seeking anticipatory bail, which has now been denied.