PALAKKAD: The residents’ association of Builtech Summit Apartments, Kunnathurmedu, has handed over a formal notice directing MLA Rahul Mamkootathil to vacate his rented flat by December 25, citing persistent inconvenience caused to other occupants.
The decision was taken at a residents’ meeting held the other day, and the notice has already been served to the MLA’s assistants. The MLA has reportedly agreed to comply and will soon begin moving out his belongings.
Rahul took the flat on rent during the Palakkad Assembly by-election, where party leaders, workers, and his relatives had gathered in celebration when he first moved in. However, ever since the sexual assault allegations were unearthed against him in August, the apartment has been in the news, causing inconvenience to other residents. Since November 30, the apartment premises witnessed repeated police visits in connection with the case, including searches and CCTV verification. During one such inspection, investigators found that CCTV footage from the day Rahul last entered the flat had been deleted, prompting police to question the technician in charge.
His reappearance on Thursday, after 15 days of hiding to evade arrest by the SIT, triggered fresh political rumblings. Rahul arrived at his polling booth at St. Sebastian’s Senior Basic School, Kunnathurmedu South, around 4.50 pm. It is reliably learnt that the Congress leadership advised him to vote late in the day to avoid any political damage to the party on the poll day.
The SIT has summoned Rahul to appear before it on December 15, as directed by the court. With the State government also challenging his anticipatory bail in the High Court, political observers opined that Rahul could again slip out of sight depending on how the legal developments unfold.
The controversy traces back to November 27, when a young woman submitted a complaint to the Chief Minister alleging sexual assault. Rahul allegedly left the flat that same evening and went into hiding. After the case was registered, the Congress expelled him, even as some local leaders, led by KSU district secretary Muhammad Iqbal, publicly received him with bouquets when he surfaced at the polling booth.