Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil faces fresh case for ‘stalking women’

Rahul Mamkootathil

The Kerala Crime Branch on Wednesday filed a case against Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil on charges of stalking and harassing women on social media. The action came just hours after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan reacted strongly to the sexual misconduct allegations against the legislator and promised that strict legal measures would follow, The Times of India reported.

On Wednesday, CM Vijayan had urged women to come forward without hesitation if they had faced harassment and assured that full protection would be given to them. He also questioned the shocking nature of the alleged remarks, including reported statements that a pregnant woman "would not take much time to be killed", calling it "deeply criminal and unacceptable".

The case on Wednesday was registered on the instructions of State Police Chief Ravada A Chandrasekhar. Police said the charges include Section 78 (stalking) and Section 351 (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Samhita, along with Section 120(O) of the Kerala Police Act, which deals with harassment through repeated calls, messages, or online communication.

Section 78 of the BNS defines stalking as following a woman without consent, monitoring her electronic communications, or repeatedly approaching her despite resistance. For a first offence, the punishment can be up to three years in prison, while repeated offences can lead to a maximum of five years. Section 351, which deals with criminal intimidation, covers threats to cause physical harm or damage to someone’s reputation or property. This can lead to two years in jail, a fine, or both.

The Crime Branch has assigned Thiruvananthapuram Range DSP C Binukumar to lead the investigation.

The controversy gathered pace after audio clips surfaced in which the MLA was allegedly heard making abusive comments and even issuing death threats. Initially, the police had not filed a case, saying there were no formal complaints. They even ignored a petition from a High Court lawyer seeking an investigation into allegations that Mamkootathil forced a woman to undergo an abortion, citing lack of details about the victim or the place of incident. But after the CM’s strong response and petitions reaching the police chief, a suo motu case was registered.

Rahul Mamkootathil had resigned from his post as Youth Congress state president after a young actor accused ‘a young leader’ of misbehaviour. That triggered protests from the BJP and CPM. Later, several other women and even a transgender person came forward with similar allegations. Following this, the Congress suspended Mamkootathil from the party’s primary membership. However, the party has so far resisted calls for him to step down from his position as MLA.