Cops Lodge Suo Motu Case Against 'Tainted' Cong MLA

Pinarayi says govt will consider legal action, KPCC distances itself

- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ T'Puram/Kochi

FRESH trouble is brewing for Rahul Mamkootathil with the crime branch registering a case against him for allegedly stalking women on social media and sending messages and making phone calls threatening a woman to terminate pregnancy.

The development came just hours after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan termed as "serious in nature" the complaints against the Palakkad MLA and said the police will take whatever legal action is possible against him.

The case was registered on Wednesday under BNS sections 78 (2) (stalking a woman), 351 (criminal intimidation) and Kerala Police Act 120 (O) (causing annoyance through any means of communication), on the basis of complaints received by the state police chief.

A first-time conviction under BNS section 78 (2) can fetch three years' imprisonment plus fine, while repeat offenders can get a prison term of up to five years with fine.