File photo of Rahul Mamkootathil
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
Palakkad MLA and former Youth Congress State president Rahul Mamkootathil was taken into custody from a hotel in Palakkad around midnight on Saturday (January 10, 2026) following a fresh complaint of sexual abuse filed by a woman against him.
Mr. Mamkootathil, already facing sexual abuse charges based on complaints by two other women, had earlier obtained interim protection from arrest from the court in those cases.
In a dramatic and discreet operation around midnight on Saturday (January 10, 2026), a police team led by the Shoranur DySP took Mr. Mamkootathil into custody from Hotel KPM Regency in Palakkad.
The hotel had earlier figured in a controversy during the Assembly byelection, when the police raided the rooms of two Congress women leaders on November 5 midnight, triggering a bitter political dispute between the Congress and the CPI(M).
Around midnight on Saturday, the police team surprised Mr. Mamkootathil by waking him from his room number 2002 and placing him under arrest. Though the MLA resisted, insisting on the presence of his lawyer, the police proceeded with the arrest.
He was subsequently taken to Pathanamthitta, where he is to be questioned and produced before a magistrate.
The police sealed the room in which Mr. Mamkootathil had been staying at Hotel KPM Regency. Police sources said the investigating team intended to examine his laptop and mobile phones as part of efforts to collect scientific evidence in the cases registered against him.
Published – January 11, 2026 09:14 am IST
