KOCHI/THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil, 36, was arrested Sunday and remanded in judicial custody in a third rape case, capping a dramatic police operation following CM Pinarayi Vijayan’s intervention. Police said the Palakkad MLA used his position to sexually abuse women. A court sent him to jail after Kerala police crime branch investigators said he could intimidate complainants, influence witnesses and destroy evidence. Congress on Sunday distanced itself from the MLA, with party senior K Muraleedharan saying Mamkootathil had been removed after the allegations surfaced. “After that, he is no longer our responsibility, and the party is not answerable for anything,” he said. The latest case stems from an alleged assault on a 31-year-old woman at a hotel in Thiruvalla on April 8, 2024. The arrest followed what police sources described as urgent directions from Vijayan after the complainant sent a voice message on Jan 8 expressing fear for her family. Police dropped plans to wait for her return from abroad for a magistrate’s statement. The state police chief approved the operation around 8pm Saturday, and officers moved quickly to pre-empt a bail bid. Crime branch units in Kollam and Pathanamthitta registered a case and said Mamkootathil refused to unlock his phone. Police seized the device, conducted a potency exam, and collected blood for DNA testing. Officers arrested him at 12.30 am at a hotel in Palakkad, took him to Pathanamthitta’s armed reserve camp for questioning, recorded the arrest at 7.30 am, and produced him in court.