Congress MLA Rahul Mankootathil Appears Before SIT in Sexual Assault Case

Thiruvananthapuram: Congress MLA Rahul Mankootathil appeared before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Monday in connection with sexual assault cases registered against him, police officials said.

He was questioned in the first case in which he is accused of sexually assaulting a woman and allegedly forcing her to terminate a pregnancy. The interrogation took place at the Police Club in Peroorkada, as directed by the investigating officer.

On February 12, the Kerala High Court granted Mankootathil anticipatory bail in the case and instructed him to cooperate with the investigation. The court directed him to appear before the investigating officer and allowed the SIT to question him for three days, from 10 am to 4 pm, if required.

The High Court also ordered him to surrender his mobile phone for examination. It stated that when he appears for questioning, he would be deemed to be in custody to facilitate investigative procedures, including medical examination or a potency test, if necessary.

The court further ruled that if the investigating officer decides to arrest him during questioning, he must be released on bail upon executing a bond of 1 lakh rupees with two solvent sureties for the same amount.

The Palakkad MLA is facing three separate sexual assault cases. He has been granted anticipatory bail in two of them. In the third case, he was arrested and remanded to judicial custody before later being granted bail by the Pathanamthitta district court.