Palakkad MLA, Rahul Mamkootathil appeared to face increased legal jeopardy late Wednesday with the police registering a First Information Statement (FIR) based on a second rape complaint against the legislator.
Officials said the police have constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under Dy.SP. Sajeevan to probe the case. Thiruvananthapuram City Police Commissioner, Thomson Jose, will supervise the investigation.
The second investigation comes against the legal backdrop of Mr Mamkootathil moving the Principal Sessions Court, Thiruvananthapuram, for anticipatory bail in a comparable case registered by the Nemom police last Thursday. Notably, the court has posted the case for further hearing on Thursday.
Officials said police traced the email to its sender, who identified herself as a 23-year-old non-resident Keralite. They said she signalled willingness to press rape charges against Mr Mamkootathil, including causing bodily hurt and illegal detention.
The SIT has reportedly requested that the complainant seek the court’s consent to record her statement before a woman magistrate, irrespective of the judicial officer’s jurisdiction and in camera, under Section 182 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023. The SIT also includes cyber forensic experts for verifying the private communications between the alleged victim and the accused.
On Tuesday, in an explosive email to KPCC president Sunny Joseph, MLA, the woman, who did not divulge her identity, accused Mr Mamkootathil of befriending her through social media and raping her after inviting her to a resort on the pretext of discussing their prospective marital alliance. Mr. Joseph subsequently forwarded the complaint to the State Police Chief Revada Chandrasekhar.
The emailer alleged that Congress leader Feni Ninan, Mr Mamkootathil’s associate and UDF candidate in the eighth ward of the Adoor Municipality, had taken her to the resort where Mr Mamkootathil allegedly raped her in 2023.
Mr Ninan has denied the accusation and petitioned the State Police Chief (SPC) to investigate the email’s “questionable provenance, veracity and its suspicious timing”.
The emailer also told Mr Joseph that she felt impelled to reveal her ordeal in the public domain after the KPCC “repeatedly denied and sat on” a series of accusations of sexual misconduct against Mr. Mamkootathil.
The writer also requested that Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra ensure that Mr Mamkootathil holds no public role that involves interacting with women and children. His removal, she wrote, would empower other alleged survivors to seek justice without fear of retribution.
The emailer stated that the social media persecution of Mr. Mamkootathil’s alleged victims had precluded her so far from seeking justice. She also wrote that her “details were available with the Crime Branch”.
Published – December 03, 2025 09:32 pm IST
