Chargesheet filed in third rape case against ex-MLA Rahul Mamkootathil

Kottayam: Police filed a chargesheet in the third rape case against former Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil. The special investigation team (SIT) submitted the chargesheet in the Thiruvalla first class magistrate court. The chargesheet, submitted four months after the case was registered, includes digital evidence. Mamkootathil was arrested on Jan 10 based on a complaint by a 31-year-old Malayali woman residing abroad. He was later granted bail. The woman returned from abroad and directly gave her statement to the SIT.According to the prosecution, Mamkootathil befriended the complainant through social media in 2024 and allegedly gained her confidence.Police alleged that, under the pretext of a private conversation, he had persuaded her to book a room at a hotel in Thiruvalla. At the hotel, the former Palakkad MLA allegedly sexually assaulted the complainant, police said.The prosecution further alleged that when the woman later became pregnant and informed the accused about it, he intimidated her. Previously, Mamkootathil had two rape cases against him, and he was apprehended in the third rape case through a secret operation. In the other two cases, Mamkootathil secured anticipatory bail from a district court in Thiruvananthapuram and from the Kerala High Court.The charges include those for rape, physical and mental abuse, and instigating an abortion. However, Rahul claims that the relationship with the complainant was consensual. He has also presented electronic evidence to support his claim.(With agency inputs)