Expelled Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil was arrested in connection with a sexual assault case after being taken into custody from Palakkad in the small hours on Sunday, police sources said.

He was shifted to a police camp here in the morning, they added.

According to police, a third sexual assault case was recently registered against the Palakkad MLA following a complaint lodged by a native of Kottayam district on January 8.

The woman, who is currently in Canada, gave her statement to the police via video conference.

According to sources, the complainant is a married woman who became acquainted with Mamkootathil in 2024 following issues in her marital life.

She told the police that Mamkootathil allegedly raped her at a hotel in April 2024 after promising to marry her.

The remand report filed to a magistrate here on Sunday said that Mamkootathil told the woman that he required a private space for discussion and, on April 8, 2024, invited her to a hotel room in Thiruvalla, where she "was brutally raped in the afternoon".

When she became pregnant, Mamkootathil allegedly refused to take responsibility and threatened her to undergo an abortion, police said.

The woman also claimed that Mamkootathil took money from her on several occasions.

The report said that Makootathil misused his official position and targeted several housewives and unmarried women.

The case was registered against Mamkootathil under IPC sections 376(rape) and 506(1) (criminal intimidation).

After registering the case, the police kept Mamkootathil under surveillance, following which a six-member team led by a Deputy SP reached the hotel room where he was staying at around 12.15 am, sources said.

He was taken into custody from the hotel at around 12.30 am and shifted to the Pathanamthitta police camp at about 5.30 am.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is probing two other cases of a similar nature against him, has also been entrusted with the investigation of the latest case, sources said.

SIT head G Poonguzali arrived at the police camp and is interrogating Mamkootathil. After the preliminary interrogation, his arrest was recorded.

He was later shifted to a government hospital where his blood samples were collected for DNA examination, and a potency test was conducted, the remand report said.

He was produced before a magistrate who remanded him to judicial custody. The SIT has filed an application seeking his custody, which will be considered on Monday.

Mamkootathil has also filed a bail petition, which will also be considered on the same day, police said. Later, he was shifted to Mavelikara Sub Jail in Alappuzha district.

Sasthamangalam Ajith Kumar, lawyer of Mamkootathil, said that arrest and remand were not the end of the legal process.

Responding to queries on his contention that the arrest was unnecessary, Kumar said the MLA had conveyed to the investigation team his willingness to cooperate with the probe.

"In one case, he has already been granted bail. In another case, the Kerala High Court has given interim relief against arrest. The court imposed certain conditions while granting anticipatory bail, and he had contacted the investigation team to inform them about the time and place at which he could appear," Kumar said.

He further said the police had already informed Mamkootathil about appearing before them.

"If it is a different case, they can always ask him to appear," he added.

The Kerala High Court had earlier granted interim protection from arrest to Mamkootathil in the first case, which relates to allegations of rape and forcing a woman to undergo an abortion.

In the second case, a sessions court in Thiruvananthapuram had granted him anticipatory bail.

Following the allegations, the Congress expelled Mamkootathil from the party.

Mamkootathil successfully contested the by-election from Palakkad last year after Congress leader Shafi Parampil, who had earlier represented the constituency, won the Lok Sabha by-poll from Vadakara in Kozhikode district.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.