The District and Sessions Court, Pathanamthitta on Wednesday granted bail to expelled Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil in connection with the alleged rape of an NRI woman.
District and Sessions Judge N Harikumar, while granting the bail, allowed Mamkootathil’s appeal against the dismissal of his bail application by a judicial magistrate’s court that had denied him bail, stating that the allegations against him were serious and that he had similar antecedents.
The accused has been in judicial custody at the Mavelikkara sub-jail since January 11. The current case relates to the allegations by an NRI woman who claimed that the Palakkad MLA befriended her through social media and later compelled her to book a hotel room, where he allegedly raped her.
The complainant has further alleged that she became pregnant following the assault and later suffered a miscarriage. The case forms part of a series of sexual assault complaints lodged against the MLA by three different women.