'Sexual misconduct': Fresh Trouble for Suspended Kerala MLA Rahul Mamkootathil as Complainant Approaches CM, Arrest Likely

Thiruvananthapuram: A day after a series of audio clips and WhatsApp chats surfaced against suspended MLA Rahul Mamkootathil, the woman who accused the Congress MLA has filed a complaint with the chief minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, demanding action.

While she was reluctant to file the complaint earlier, she has now reached out to the authorities mere days after  the leakedaudio clips and chats became public. In her complaint, she alleges that Rahul Mamkootathil raped her under the pretext of a false promise of marriage and later forced her to undergo an abortion.

The chief minister’s office has confirmed that the complaint will be forwarded to the police team already probing the case. Kerala DGP Ravada Chandrasekhar futher stated that the complaint will be handed over to Crime Branch chief H. Venkatesh for further investigation.

With a formal complaint finally in place, Congress leader Rahul Mamkootathil is likely to be arrested.

What is the controversy around suspended Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil?

The allegations surrounding the suspended Kerala Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil deepened on Tuesday after a set of audio clips and WhatsApp chats surfaced, in which the he can be heard pressuring a woman to become pregnant and later verbally harassing her when she told him she was one month pregnant.

According to the newly surfaced WhatsApp exchanges, Mamkoottathil allegedly instructed the woman to “get ready to become pregnant” and explicitly told her not to use contraceptive pills. 

A subsequent audio clip records the woman informing the MLA that she is pregnant and detailing the physical difficulties she was experiencing. The MLA is heard saying that she is “not the only one in the world to get pregnant” and accuses her of “playing drama”. Further audio recordings reveal the MLA insisting she terminate the pregnancy and threatening her with dire consequences if she refused. In one exchange, the woman confronts him, asking why she was asked to conceive if he now wanted the pregnancy ended, prompting an angry reaction from the legislator.

This is not the first time that Mamkootathil has been accused of problematic behaviour. Just a few months back, he had to resign from his position as the State President of the Youth Congress amid the allegations of obscene conduct filed by writer Honey Bhaskaran and model Rini Ann George.

Honey Bhaskaran in her Facebook post said that Rahul messaged her on her social media account. She said initially it was about travel, and she responded to it, but there was a series of messages from him. When she realised he had no intention of stopping, she stopped responding to his messages. She said that she got to know through Youth Congress workers that he had badmouthed her, and had claimed that it was her who initiated the conversation.

These charges came shortly after actress and model Rini Ann George accused the Congress MLA of sending her offensive messages on multiple occasions and inviting her to a hotel. She also added than when she threatened to inform his party about his behaviour, the leader challenged her to do so. 

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