Pathanamthitta (Kerala) | A Kerala court here on Tuesday granted custody of expelled Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil to the police for three days in a sexual assault case.

A Judicial First Class Magisterial court in Thiruvalla granted the MLA's custody to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the cases of sexual assault registered against him.

When he was brought out from the court and taken to the police vehicle, protestors comprising the CPI(M) and BJP youth wing activists threw rotten eggs at Mamkootathil.

Earlier in the day, there were intense protests by the CPI(M) and the BJP youth wings against the MLA outside the jail, when he was being taken to the court, and the taluk hospital in Thiruvalla, where his medical examination was carried out.

The protestors held up placards of a rooster with his face and shouted slogans against him outside the jail, taluk hospital and the court.

Mamkootathil was arrested on Sunday in Palakkad in connection with a third sexual assault case.

He was protected from arrest by the Kerala High Court in the first two cases of sexual assault against him.

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

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

The case was registered against Mamkootathil under sections 376(rape) and 506(1) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).