Crime Branch records statement of third-party complainant in probe against Rahul Mamkootathil

The Crime Branch investigation into the accusations of sexual misconduct against Congress leader Rahul Mamkootathil appeared to enter a new phase on Monday, with the agency recording the statement of a third-party complainant, who had earlier moved the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights against the Palakkad MLA.

The complainant, Lawyer Shinto Sebastian, who had, quoting an anonymous voice clip, accused Mr. Mamkootathil of “coercing a victim” to terminate her pregnancy at the peril of her life, said he had submitted the “evidence” to investigators.

Mr. Mamkoothatil has since denied that the anonymous male voice in the conversation was his.

Meanwhile, the State police were also investigating the mounting cyber attacks and vilification campaign against people, including alleged victims, activists and Congress’s high-profile women leaders, who sought Mr. Mamkoothathil’s resignation on moral and ethical grounds.

Officials suspect that the “dedicated troll farms” behind the spiralling cyber attacks were employing software and AI tools to flood social media networks with wilfully offensive, defamatory, and provocative online posts, possibly to manipulate public opinion in the issue.

The police believe that the unprecedented targeted online shaming could be a ploy to intimidate alleged victims from approaching law enforcement.

Moreover, law enforcers said that bringing such online malefactors to book might mitigate the hostile social environment, which they stated possibly prevented victims from coming forward due to fear of being socially stigmatised.

The Crime Branch was also reportedly positioned to record the statements of a few women journalists who had called on the alleged victim and portrayed her “traumatised physical and mental condition” on social and conventional media. The journalists also cited alleged instances of inducement and threats to demand the victim’s silence.

Meanwhile, the Crime Branch was reportedly poised to brief Speaker A.N. Shamsheer’s office about the legal challenges confronting Mr. Mamkootathil, given the two ongoing investigations against the MLA, including the alleged use of fake Election Commission voter identity cards for “rigging” the 2023 State Youth Congress’s online election in his favour. Mr. Mamkootathil has since denied the accusation.