Case filed against MLA Rahul Mamkootathil over stalking, online harassment allegations
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Kerala Police on Wednesday registered a case against Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil for stalking and harassment of women on social media.
The action came shortly after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, addressing a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram, assured that “all possible legal steps” would be taken in connection with the allegations against the legislator.
According to a statement from the State Police Media Centre, the case was filed by the Crime Branch on the instructions of State DGP Ravada A Chandrasekhar, after complaints received at his office were found to include cognizable offences.
The FIR invokes sections 78(2) (stalking) and 351 (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with section 120(o) of the Kerala Police Act, which covers repeated nuisance or harassment through calls, messages, emails, or other communication methods. Crime Branch Thiruvananthapuram Range DySP C Binukumar has been tasked with leading the investigation.
Mamkootathil had earlier stepped down as Youth Congress state president after Malayalam actress Rini Ann George accused a “young leader” of misconduct, prompting protests from the BJP and the CPI(M)’s youth wing DYFI. He was also facing an internal party inquiry.
In the weeks that followed, multiple women and a transgender person came forward with similar allegations. The controversy deepened after audio clips surfaced of a purported conversation between the MLA and a woman, leading the Congress to suspend him from its primary membership.