Palakkad: Expelled Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil, who had been absconding for over two weeks, surfaced on Thursday to cast his vote in the local body elections at Kunnathurmedu ward in Palakkad. His appearance came shortly after he secured protection from arrest in two sexual assault cases registered against him.

Mamkootathil had gone into hiding after the first FIR was filed, accusing him of sexual assault and forced abortion. A second case was later registered based on a complaint by another woman from Bengaluru. The Kerala High Court granted him interim protection from arrest in the first case, while a Thiruvananthapuram sessions court granted anticipatory bail in the second.

As he exited the polling booth, reporters confronted him with questions about his whereabouts and the allega

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