Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil misused his official position to exploit several homemakers and unmarried women, the Crime Branch Special Investigation Team (SIT) said in its remand report filed on Sunday. Mamkootathil was arrested early Sunday in connection with the third rape case registered against him and was later remanded to judicial custody by the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Thiruvalla, Pathanamthitta. The latest case stems from a complaint filed by a woman from Thiruvalla, relating to an incident that allegedly happened in 2024.

According to the remand report, the MLA allegedly contacted the complainant through social media, cultivated a friendship, gained her trust, and lured her by expressing interest in marriage. Claiming that he needed a private space to talk, he allegedly invited her to a hotel in Thiruvalla around 1 pm on April 8, 2024. After making her book a room and asking her to rest there, he allegedly arrived about 15 minutes later and forcibly assaulted her, inflicting injuries and raping her multiple times. The probe team also stated that Mamkootathil, who was then serving as the Youth Congress state president, also impregnated the woman. 

The survivor, who is currently living abroad, had emailed her complaint to the Director General of Police. Acting on this, the case was transferred to a Special Investigation Team on Saturday and registered by the Crime Branch under Sections 376 (rape) and 506 (1) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), following directions from the ADGP, Crime Branch. The investigation was assigned to the Crime Branch Kottayam–Pathanamthitta unit.

Based on information that the accused was hiding in Palakkad, the SIT took him into custody from Room No. 2002 of KPM Hotel at around 12.30 am on Sunday. His relatives and driver were informed through the hotel reception, and a Samsung folding mobile phone found in his possession was seized, the report said.

The accused was brought to the Pathanamthitta AR Camp at 5.15 am, questioned in detail, and formally arrested at 7.30 am. The grounds of arrest were conveyed to his relative, though Mamkootathil refused to acknowledge receipt of the arrest records. He was later taken to the Pathanamthitta General Hospital for a potency test, and blood samples were collected for DNA analysis. Investigators said the next phase of the probe would focus on recovering additional mobile phones allegedly containing chats and nude videos of the survivor.

The remand report also noted that Mamkootathil is a “habitual offender” as he is an accused in other cases registered under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the IT Act, which are being investigated by an SIT as per orders of the State Police Chief. 

The report also stressed that the accused is a member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly with considerable political influence. The probe team warned that he could use this influence to threaten the survivor, influence witnesses, or destroy evidence. It further stated that even after FIRs were registered in earlier cases, the accused had attempted to intimidate survivors and coerce them into withdrawing complaints, and that there was a strong likelihood of such actions being repeated in the present case. The report added that survivors in cases involving the accused had faced sustained cyber harassment, including the disclosure of their identities and online abuse. A separate application seeking police custody will be filed, the report said. 

Mamkootathil won the Palakkad Assembly seat as a Congress candidate in the 2024 bypolls, held after the constituency fell vacant following Shafi Parambil’s election to the Lok Sabha. The party, however, suspended him in August 2024 after multiple sexual assault allegations emerged. He was expelled from the Congress’ primary membership in December after a sessions court in Thiruvananthapuram rejected his anticipatory bail plea in the first rape case registered against him by the Nemom police, which involves allegations of rape and forcible termination of pregnancy.

The second case, registered by the Crime Branch, stems from a complaint filed by a 23-year-old woman who alleged that he raped her in 2023 after promising marriage while she was studying outside Kerala. According to the complaint, he contacted her through social media, persuaded her to meet him during a vacation, took her to a secluded homestay, and sexually assaulted her despite her resistance, causing injuries. After the registration of the first two cases, Mamkootathil remained absconding for a considerable period before later securing protection from arrest in both cases.