Woman submits sexual assault complaint with Kerala CM against Rahul Mamkootathil
Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 27 (PTI): A woman on Thursday submitted a sexual assault complaint with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan against suspended Congress MLA Rahul Mankootathil, shortly after a fresh purported audio recording of a conversation between the two surfaced online.
A source said the woman met Vijayan at his office here and submitted the complaint. The complaint has been forwarded to the State Police Chief for further action.
The move came months after Mankootathil faced multiple allegations of sexual misconduct.
Reacting to the development, the Palakkad MLA said he would fight the case legally.
"As long as I am convinced that I have done no wrong, I will continue to fight legally. I will prove everything in the court of law as well as in the court of the people. Truth will prevai..," he wrote on his Facebook page.
State Health Minister Veena George expressed solidarity with the victim, saying Kerala is with her.
"Dear sister, Do not lose strength...Kerala is with you..," she said in a social media post.
Earlier, the Crime Branch had opened a case based on the initial audio clips and the chat messages. That case was triggered by an email sent to the police headquarters by a few individuals, all of them third parties, as the woman herself had not come forward at the time.
Two days ago, a new purported audio clip was released in which he was heard insisting that he wanted a child, before later urging her to undergo an abortion.
He was suspended from the primary membership of the Congress on August 25 following the allegations.
The Palakkad MLA had earlier resigned as Youth Congress state president after Malayalam actress Rini Ann George accused "a young leader" of a well-known political party of misbehaviour, triggering protests by the BJP and the DYFI, the youth wing of the CPI(M).
Subsequently, several women and a transgender person levelled similar allegations against him.
Mankootathil was elected as MLA in November last year in a by-election for the Palakkad seat, following the election of party leader and then sitting MLA Shafi Parambil as Lok Sabha MP from Vatakara in the general election.
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Kulkarni became victim of BJP conspiracy as he grew politically in North Karnataka: Shivakumar
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Bengaluru (PTI): Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar claimed on Friday that Congress MLA Vinay Kulkarni, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in a murder case, has become a victim of a BJP conspiracy because he was growing politically in the north Karnataka region.
Stating that he has faith in Kulkarni and believes he has done nothing wrong, he said the former minister will fight the case legally by filing an appeal.
A Bengaluru court on Friday sentenced Kulkarni and fifteen others to life imprisonment in the BJP leader Yogeshgouda Goudar murder case.
On Wednesday, Santhosh Gajanan Bhat, Judge of the Special Court for cases involving elected representatives, convicted Kulkarni and others under various IPC sections, including criminal conspiracy and murder.
“I respect the court. But there was a big conspiracy in this case. When the police were about to file a B-report, the CBI was given the case to harass him (Kulkarni). Vinay Kulkarni has become a victim of a BJP conspiracy as he was growing politically in north Karnataka,” Shivakumar said.
Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, he said Kulkarni has several legal options.
“I have spoken to his family. He swore on God and told me that he had not done anything wrong. I still have faith in him. I feel that he has not done anything wrong. He has an opportunity to file an appeal,” he said, adding that he stands with Kulkarni’s family and supporters and believes he will get justice.
The case pertains to the killing of Goudar, a BJP zilla panchayat member, in Dharwad on June 15, 2016. Kulkarni was a minister at the time. Hired assailants allegedly attacked and hacked Goudar to death in his gym in Saptapur, Dharwad.
Following demands from Goudar’s family and others, the then-BJP government transferred the case to the CBI in 2019.
Veteran BJP leader and former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, under whose tenure the case was handed over to the CBI, told reporters in Chikkamagaluru, “I said what I needed to say when the crime happened, and what I said—that the guilty should be punished and justice should be served—has proven true.”
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, BJP leader and MLC C T Ravi, reacting to the court order, said, “Justice delayed, but not denied.”
