Expelled Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil Arrested Again On Fresh Rape Charges

Pathanamthitta: The Crime Branch team of the Kerala Police has arrested Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil in connection with a rape case based on a fresh complaint against him. Mamkootathil was taken into custody from a hotel in Palakkad at midnight on Saturday and was taken to the Armed Reserve Camp in Pathanamthitta. Following interrogation, the MLA will be produced before the Thiruvalla Magistrate, the Kerala Police said.

Earlier in December 2025, the investigation into the first alleged rape case against Mamkootathil was handed over to the State Police Crime Branch team. A special team led by Assistant Inspector General G Poonguzhali is now probing both the cases, one of which was previously being investigated by the Thiruvananthapuram City Police Commissioner. Poonguzhali was already heading the inquiry into the second rape case.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had reasoned that there were possibility of "more serious revelations" emerging in the case. 

The first case against Mamkootathil was filed by a woman accusing the MLA of alleged rape and coercion to terminate pregnancy in 2024. This was followed by a second complaint from another woman who alleged sexual assault after he promised to marry her. In her complaint, the woman claimed that Mankootathil called her to a homestay on the pretext of marriage and then raped her. She stated that Mankootathil "brutally assaulted" her and even pressured her to conceive. The survivor also claimed she did not file a police case earlier out of fear.

The complaint also accused Mankootathil and his associate Fenni Nainan of driving her to the homestay and forcibly committing the assault. The Kerala Police registered a case against MLA Mamkootathil based on a woman's complaint alleging sexual assault, rape on the pretext of marriage and forced abortion.

The FIR, initially lodged at the Nedumangad Valiyamala Police Station, was later transferred to the Nemom Police Station as the alleged incidents occurred within its jurisdiction. The Kerala High Court had on December 6 stayed his arrest. The bench of Justice K Babu considered the MLA's anticipatory bail plea and directed that detailed arguments would be heard. The matter is scheduled to be taken up again on December 15.

Mamkootathil had approached the High Court after the Thiruvananthapuram Principal Sessions Court rejected his anticipatory bail application.The Thiruvananthapuram Principal Sessions Court had rejected Mamkootathil's request for anticipatory bail in the alleged rape case. The case registered against him includes eight non-bailable sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023, including Section 64 for rape, Section 64(2) for repeatedly committing rape on the same woman, Section 64(f) for rape by a person in a position of trust, Section 64(h) for rape on a woman knowing she is pregnant, and Section 64(m) for repeated rape on the same woman. It also includes Section 89 of the BNS for causing miscarriage without a woman's consent, BNS 316 for criminal breach of trust, and Section 68(e) of the Information Technology Act relating to transmission of offensive digital content. The offences cumulatively carry punishments ranging from ten years to life imprisonment.

The Congress initially suspended and then expelled the MLA from the party over the allegations. (With ANI inputs)

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