Thiruvananthapuram: While Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil, booked in a rape case, continues to remain elusive, orator and right-wing activist Rahul Easwar—who publicly supported the MLA—faced another setback. The Thiruvananthapuram Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court on Saturday rejected Easwar’s bail plea in a case registered by the Cyber Police for allegedly revealing the identity of the rape survivor and making sexually coloured remarks against her. He will remain in judicial custody at Poojapura Central Jail.

With tensions continuing, Easwar ended his seven-day hunger strike on Saturday. He had been drinking only water since being taken into custody on November 30.

Meanwhile, the Cyber Police have submitted a fresh petition seeking three days’ custody of Easwar. In the plea, the police stated that Easwar did not cooperate with the investigation and must be interrogated in detail.

According to reports, Easwar made a volte-face in court, stating that he was willing to withdraw all posts that allegedly defamed the woman who accused the Palakkad MLA of rape. Earlier,  he had declared before the media that he would continue to back Rahul Mamkootathil. He made this statement when police took him to his residence for evidence collection. 

Cyber Police booked Easwar on November 30 after receiving a complaint from the survivor. Congress leader Sandeep G Varier, Mahila Congress leader Renjitha Pulickan, Adv Deepa Joseph and another person are also booked in the case. 

Easwar, the fifth accused in the case, has been charged under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Sections 72, 75(1)(iv), 79, 351(1) and 351(2), along with Section 43 read with Section 66 of the Information Technology Act.

MLA Rahul Mamkootathil was booked for raping a woman and forcing her to abort the pregnancy.

A case under Sections 64(2)(f) (rape by a person in a position of trust or authority), 64(2)(h) (rape knowing the woman is pregnant), 64(2)(m) (repeated rape on the same woman), 89 (causing miscarriage without consent), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 351(3) (criminal intimidation) and 3(5) (joint criminal liability) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered against the Palakkad MLA last week.

Police have also invoked Section 66(E) of the Information Technology Act for the alleged recording and threat of misuse of private images.

Subsequently, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted and a lookout circular issued to prevent Mamkootathil from leaving the country. He has been absconding since November 27. Police have intensified the search for Mamkootathil in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, suspecting that he has left the state. Amid this, another woman filed a fresh complaint with KPCC chief Sunny Joseph accusing Mamkootathil of raping her. Police have registered a fresh case against the absconding MLa over this complaint. In a bid to save its face from the allegations, Congress expelled him from the party on December 4.