JOIN USPolice on Saturday arrested M Vincent, Congress MLA from Kovalam in Thiruvananthapuram, in connection with the alleged rape of a 51-year-old woman in Balaramapuram near here.
The arrest was recorded at the Police Club in Peroorkada, after a three-hour long interrogation of the MLA by the investigators at the Legislators’ Hostel here.
Vincent, 49, was on Friday slapped with rape (IPC 376) and stalking (IPC 354 D) charges. He was remanded to 14 days’ judicial custody. The Congress leadership stated that the party would take action against the MLA only after a court finds him guilty.
The incident came to light on Wednesday after the woman tried to commit suicide. The victim’s husband had registered the complaint against the MLA. The woman, in her statement, revealed details of mental and physical abuse and a specific incident of sexual assault.
The police also recorded the statement of a local priest and a nun before proceeding with the arrest. Call records also revealed hundreds of calls made by the MLA to the woman over a period of five months.
Protests were staged against Vincent at the Neyyattinkara Taluk Hospital, where he was brought for a medical examination. Youth Congress activists staged protests against the arrest.
Earlier, Vincent had sought anticipatory bail at a local court; the court was scheduled to hear his plea on Monday. The MLA dismissed the charges and said he would counter the arrest legally. “I’m the victim of a CPM conspiracy. The arrest is the result of pressure from the Chief Minister’s office,” he said.
Initially, the MLA was charged with abetting suicide and use of obscene language against the woman. The IPC provision pertaining to rape was invoked after the investigating officer – Kollam City Police Commissioner S Ajeetha Begum – recorded the woman’s statement at the hospital in Neyyattinkara she is admitted in.
“The investigation in the case is still on. The arrest is part of the probe,” Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told reporters. Vincent’s arrest is also set to assume political significance as it leaves the opposition Congress party in a tight spot.
The state Congress leadership has been guarded in statements about the controversy even as woman leaders of the party demand resignation of the MLA.
Congress state president M M Hassan said the party would initiate action against the MLA if he is pronounced guilty by a court. Ahead of the arrest, Vincent had maintained that the allegations were part of a conspiracy hatched with local CPM activists.