Thiruvananthapuram, 2 Dec

With police continuing their intensive search for absconding Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil, another woman has filed a fresh sexual assault complaint against the legislator.

The 23-year-old woman, who lives outside Kerala, sent the complaint to the party high command and the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) via email.

The party’s state leadership has handed the complaint over to the state police chief for further action, party sources said on Tuesday. However, DGP Ravada A Chandrasekhar said he's yet to receive the complaint.

Mamkootathil has been absconding for the past few days after police registered a sexual assault and forced-abortion case against him based on a complaint submitted to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan last week.

In the fresh complaint, the woman allegedly stated that Mamkootathil had "grievously exploited, assaulted, and emotionally abused her under the false promise of marriage."

She said she was coming forward now because recent reports of similar allegations had surfaced, and she wanted to ensure that no other woman "falls prey to his predatory behaviour."

In her complaint, she also gave a detailed account of how she met Mamkootathil years ago and how she was "sexually assaulted" in a homestay-like building after "being deceived with a false promise of marriage."

According to the FIR registered on 28 November from the earlier complaint, the complainant, who was pregnant at the time, was allegedly raped by Mamkootathil over two days at an apartment in the last week of May.

The suspended legislator has reportedly been untraceable since the case was registered on 28 November.

He has filed an anticipatory bail plea before the Thiruvananthapuram District and Principal Sessions Court, which will be considered on 3 December.

Apart from Mamkootathil, his friend Joby Joseph is also named as an accused and is currently untraceable. Joseph allegedly gave the complainant a pill inside a car on 30 May to abort the pregnancy.

The case has been registered under Sections 64(2)(f) (rape by a person in a position of trust or authority), 64(2)(h) (rape knowing the woman is pregnant), 64(2)(m) (repeated rape on the same woman), 89 (causing miscarriage without consent), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 351(3) (criminal intimidation), and 3(5) (joint criminal liability) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Police have also invoked Section 66(E) of the Information Technology Act for the alleged recording and threat of misuse of private images.

Mamkootathil was suspended from the primary membership of the Congress on 25 August.

He earlier resigned as Youth Congress state president after Malayalam actress Rini Ann George accused a young leader of misbehaviour, prompting protests by the BJP and the DYFI, the youth wing of the CPI(M).

Subsequently, several women and a transgender person also levelled allegations against him.

Mamkootathil was elected as MLA in November last year in a bypoll to the Palakkad seat, following former MLA Shafi Parambil’s election to the Lok Sabha from Vatakara.