Rahul Easwar
| Photo Credit: PTI
A district court in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday (December 3, 2025) remanded YouTuber Rahul Easwar to police custody till Thursday (December 4, 2025).
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Elsa Catherine George had earlier remanded Mr. Easwar to judicial custody after the Thiruvananthapuram City Cyber Police arrested the right-wing activist and television commentator on the charge of defaming and revealing the identity of the woman who had accused Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil of serial rape and coerced termination of pregnancy.
Mr. Easwar had declared a hunger strike in prison. He attempted to create political theatre by reiterating that he would continue to support Mr. Mamkootathil. The court ordered the Central Prison authorities to ensure Mr. Easwar received medical attention.
Subsequently, prison officials transferred Mr. Easwar to Government Fort Hospital. The district court posted Mr. Easwar’s bail plea for further hearing on Saturday.
Sandeep Varier seeks bail
Another accused in the case, Sandeep Varier, a KPCC general secretary, has moved the court for anticipatory bail.
The FIR registered at the city cyber crime police station also names two Mahila Congress leaders, among 20 others, including Mr. Mamkootathil’s vocal social media supporters.
Prosecution’s case
The prosecution’s case was that Mr. Easwar defamed the survivor and outraged her modesty in public to intimidate her criminally, allegedly to dissuade her from pressing charges against Mr. Mamkootathil.
The State-side also accused Mr. Easwar of procuring, storing and publishing the photographs and particulars of the victim through Facebook and other social media platforms on various dates.
Notably, the prosecution indicted Mr. Easwar for repeatedly slurring the survivor’s integrity and making vulgar and sexual remarks against her.
The State-side also submitted YouTube videos containing the sexually coloured remarks allegedly broadcast by Mr. Easwar. It stressed the need to recover other electronic devices used for the offence.
The prosecution also argued that releasing the suspect on bail would impede the course of the investigation and open the window for evidence tampering and further intimidation of the survivor.
Earlier, the police alleged that Mr. Easwar failed to respond to a notice to appear for questioning, a claim his family has since denied.
The prosecution also submitted that the ACJM had noted that the investigators had identified the prima facie offence related to making sexually coloured remarks against the woman, an infraction punishable by one year of imprisonment and a fine.
Meanwhile, the cyber police are poised to take Mr. Easwar to his office and residence to search for more electronic gadgets involved in the offence.
Published – December 03, 2025 01:13 pm IST
