Kerala MLA Rahul Mamkootathil booked for sexual assault, forced abortion

Hours after a survivor approached Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to demand action against suspended Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil for alleged sexual assault and a forced termination of pregnancy, the Palakkad MLA went into hiding. Now, a case has been registered against him.

The police registered a case against Mamkoottathil and another person, Joby Joseph, based on a complaint filed by the woman alleging physical assault, sexual abuse, intimidation and forced abortion. The case has been registered as Crime No. 896/2025 under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the IT Act.

'MLA threatened to circulate images'

According to the FIR, a copy of which The Federal has accessed, the complainant alleges that the MLA assaulted her and engaged in sexual acts with her at her residence on 4 March 2025. She further said the MLA photographed her nude on his mobile phone and allegedly threatened to circulate the images if she revealed their relationship. The FIR notes that this threat was made on 17 March 2025.

The woman also alleges that the MLA forcefully had sex with her on 22 April 2025 at her residence, and again on two occasions in the last week of May at his flat in Palakkad, despite being aware that she was pregnant at the time.

A key allegation in the complaint is that on 30 May 2025, the second accused, Joby Joseph, handed her abortion pills inside a car. The FIR states that Rahul allegedly compelled her to consume the pills and undergo an abortion against her will. The complainant also states that she was repeatedly threatened not to disclose the incidents.

Police have invoked sections 64(2)(f), 64(2)(h), 64(2)(m), 89, 115(2), 351(3), 3(5) of the BNS along with Section 66(E) of the IT Act. The complaint was formally recorded at 3.13 am on 28 November 2025.

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Police are expected to approach the Thiruvananthapuram Chief Judicial Magistrate Court to record the confidential statement from the survivor, and a team of doctors was expected to assess her health.

Suspended MLA at large

Mamkootathil reportedly went into hiding after the survivor approached the Kerala Chief Minister. Police began efforts to trace him. Congress leaders in Palakkad said Mamkootathil was actively campaigning in the Kanadi area for the local body elections till around 4 pm on November 27, after which he and a close associate were not seen.

Earlier, the Crime Branch had registered a case based on audio clips and chat messages that surfaced after third-party individuals sent an email to the police headquarters, as the survivor could not come forward at the time.

Repeated offender

Two days ago, another audio clip was released, in which Mamkootathil purportedly expressed his desire for a child but later urged the woman to undergo an abortion. Mamkootathil was suspended from the primary membership of the Congress on August 25.

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He had earlier resigned as Youth Congress state president after Malayalam actress Rini Ann George accused him of misbehaviour, prompting protests by the BJP and the DYFI, the youth wing of the CPI(M). Subsequently, several women and a transgender person also levelled allegations against him.