Rape case: Unusual caution, secrecy mark midnight Police operation to arrest Rahul Mamkootathil

Palakkad: Acting with unusual caution to avoid a repeat of an earlier setback, a special Crime Branch team carried out a discreet midnight operation on Saturday to take former Congress leader and MLA Rahul Mamkootathil into custody from a hotel room in Palakkad town in connection with a rape case. The police had kept the fresh complaint strictly confidential until the arrest was executed.

The move followed an earlier embarrassment last month, when police failed to arrest Mamkootathil after a similar complaint was filed by another woman. On that occasion, while staying at a hotel in Palakkad, the MLA managed to flee and went into hiding for more than a week before securing bail from the court. Determined to prevent a recurrence, police this time maintained complete secrecy after receiving the complaint directly at the office of the Director General of Police (DGP) and kept the MLA under close surveillance.

“The detailed complaint, describing the ordeal faced by the woman, was received by the DGP via email three days ago. We immediately recorded her statement through video conferencing and later obtained a written complaint as well. She has expressed her willingness to fully cooperate with the investigation by revealing all details,” a senior police officer said. “Based on this, a case was registered. Parallelly, Mamkootathil’s movements in his constituency in Palakkad were closely monitored while ensuring the operation remained strictly confidential,” said an official.

 A special team was deployed to ensure his custody. The police team tracked Mamkootathil’s movements and public engagements in Palakkad throughout Sunday and confirmed his stay at the KPM Hotel. Around midnight, the police team reached the hotel, and after consulting the reception staff, they proceeded to Rahul’s room.

“The police team arrived at the hotel around midnight and enquired about the room where Mamkootathil was staying. They went to Room No. 2002 and returned about ten minutes later with him,” a hotel staff member told Onmanorama. According to the staff, Rahul had been staying at the hotel since Saturday and was rarely seen, as the hotel has two separate entrances and he had few visitors.

During the Palakkad Assembly bypoll in November 2024, police had earlier conducted a midnight search operation targeting Mamkootathil following allegations that Congress leaders had brought money in ‘blue boxes’ for distribution in the constituency. However, no incriminating material was found, and the leaders, including Mamkootathil, were released after detention.

In December last year, Mamkootathil had managed to flee immediately after police initiated action to arrest him in connection with a second rape case registered by the Crime Branch. Learning from that episode, a special team was deployed this time under the supervision of G Poonkuzhali, who is heading the investigation, leading to the successful midnight operation.