Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil was denied bail in a rape case by the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Thiruvalla, on Saturday, January 17. This is the third case of sexual assault registered against the dismissed Congress leader.
The order came a day after the court completed hearing arguments on the bail plea and reserved its verdict. On Friday, the proceedings were held in camera after the court allowed a request made by Mamkootathil. The prosecution had also insisted that the hearing be conducted behind closed doors.
The court is reported to have relied on the report submitted by the Special Investigation Team probing the case while deciding on the matter.
Opposing bail, the prosecution told the court that serious allegations have been raised against the MLA repeatedly. It pointed out that two other sexual assault cases are pending against him and said steps are under way to record the confidential statement of the complainant.
The prosecution also produced chat records between Mamkootathil and the complainant before the court.
Mamkoottathil’s lawyer argued that the conversations were consensual and maintained that as an elected public representative, he would not evade the law if released on bail.
Meanwhile, screenshots of WhatsApp chats, allegedly between Mamkootathil and the complainant, were made public by his friend Fenny Ninan, who also claimed that the woman had sought a private meeting with the MLA.
Following this, the Pathanamthitta Cyber Police registered a case against Fenny for cyber harassment by sharing the chats online. Renjitha Pulickal, a Congress worker who allegedly posted messages against the complainant on social media, was also taken into custody after a complaint was filed against her.
Mamkootathil was arrested in the early hours of January 11 from a hotel in his constituency in Palakkad. The MLA was arrested on charges of rape and for allegedly forcing a medical termination of pregnancy.
As part of the investigation, police took him to a hotel in Thiruvalla and later to his residence in Pathanamthitta district.