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Pathanamthitta: As per the grounds for bail submitted in the plea, Palakkad legislator Rahul Mamkoottathil stated that he had received money and gift from the survivor even after the day of the incident during April, 2024. To substantiate this, the defense counsel also submitted an audio message before the court.
The plea was submitted before the judicial first class magistrate court in Thiruvalla. As per Rahul Mamkoottathil, the message is a clear evidence to show that the relationship was consensual and thus will contradict the claims made by the prosecution before the court.
Rahul’s phone which has been seized by the SIT contains chats and voice clips which he had received from the complainant and that alone will lead to his acquittal. The plea also quotes from the First Information Statement in which the survivor admits that she was living with her husband while she had a relationship with Mamkoottathil.
“She fell into an extra marital affair with Rahul. She is not a kid and she knows that consequences of such a relationship”, the plea noted. According to the defense, she booked a hotel room in her name and waited for Rahul which established her consent for the relationship.
The defense counsels produced the chat history between them on December 20 and 24 so as to establish that even months following the incident, the complainant shared a cordial relationship with Rahul.
Court verdict reserved for January 17
The Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Thiruvalla reserved its verdict in the bail application preferred by Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil, who is charged with rape.
After his arrest on Sunday (January 10), Mamkootathil was in judicial custody. Thereafter, on Tuesday, the Magistrate allowed the investigating agency's custody application and gave custody of the MLA to the police for three days from 1:45 p.m. on Tuesday till 5 p.m. on Thursday.
This is the third complaint made against him alleging the same offence. The complaint is reported to have been filed by a NRI woman, who claimed that Mamkootathil raped her in a hotel room. Thereafter, a crime was registered at the Crime Branch Police Station, Thiruvananthapuram.
In the first complaint, the Sessions Court, Thiruvananthapuram denied him pre-arrest bail and he had approached the High Court. The bail application before the High Court is presently pending consideration but he has been granted interim protection from arrest in the case.
