THIRUVALLA:
The arguments regarding the bail application of Rahul Mamkootathil, the MLA from Palakkad, Kerala, who was expelled from the Congress party and arrested in connection with a rape case, were concluded here on Friday. Subsequently, the court has reserved its ruling.
The hearing took place in a closed courtroom after the prosecution insisted that the proceedings be conducted behind closed doors.
The court is likely to consider the report submitted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating the case while deciding on the bail plea.
The prosecution strongly opposed granting bail, arguing that complaints against Mamkootathil have been raised repeatedly.
They informed the court that two other sexual assault cases are pending and that steps to record the confidential statement of the complainant are in progress.
The prosecution also presented chat records between the accused and the complainant in court.
The defence, however, contended that all communications were consensual and argued that the accused, being a responsible public representative, would not abscond if granted bail.
Meanwhile, screenshots of WhatsApp chats, allegedly between Mamkootathil and the complainant, were made public by his friend Fenny Ninan.
According to Ninan, the woman had requested a private meeting with the MLA.
Following complaints from the woman, the Pathanamthitta Cyber Police registered a case against Ninan for cyber harassment, as he had shared the chats online.
In addition, Renjitha Pulickal, a Congress worker who reportedly wrote posts against the complainant on social media, has also been taken into custody after a complaint was filed with the Cyber Police Station.
It was in the midnight of January 11 that the police acted swiftly and took into custody Mamkootathil, who was staying in a hotel in his constituency in Palakkad.
Since then, he has been in either judicial or police custody.
As part of the investigation process, he was first taken to a hotel in Thiruvalla and then to his home in Pathanamthitta district.
Mamkootathil was arrested on January 11 on charges of rape and coerced medical termination of pregnancy.
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