Kottayam/Kerala: A YouTuber was arrested for allegedly defaming the complainant in the rape case against expelled Congress leader Rahul Mamkootathil on social media platforms, police said on Thursday, PTI reported.
The arrested person is Jerin (39), of Velloor here, who runs a YouTube channel named 'Voice of Malayale,' they said.
According to police, Jerin allegedly made extreme derogatory remarks about the complainant on November 30, which were circulated through various social media platforms.
A URL link containing defamatory content was received by the Wayanad District Police Chief recently, and further probe revealed that the accused was staying within the jurisdiction of the Kottayam Cyber Police.
Police officials said that the Kottayam Cyber Police registered a case on Wednesday and arrested the accused soon after.
Police said that 32 cases have been registered across Kerala for defaming the complainant, on whose complaint Mamkootathil was booked.
The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) on Thursday expelled Palakkad MLA Mamkootathil from the party amid the serial sexual predation scandal that has overshadowed the United Democratic Front (UDF) Opposition in Kerala since August.
The decision comes shortly after a district court in Thiruvananthapuram rejected Mamkootathil’s anticipatory bail plea in a rape and coerced termination of pregnancy case, filed last Thursday by a woman acquaintance of the MLA.
KPCC President Sunny Joseph said in a press release that Mamkootathil’s continuation in the party had become “ethically untenable” due to the gravity of the allegations. Rahul, who was already under suspension, has now been removed from the party’s primary membership based on complaints and registered cases against him.
Senior Congress leaders had previously demanded his removal after the woman directly filed a complaint and gave her statement to the police, prompting the registration of a case. With local elections approaching, the Rahul issue had put the Congress leadership on the defensive, leading to the decision to expel him. The KPCC president then informed the High Command, and following the court’s rejection of the bail plea, the official notice of expulsion was issued.