Last Updated:December 02, 2025, 08:58 IST

Deepa Easwar has criticised the police for allegedly mishandling the case against her husband, Rahul Easwar, claiming shifting charges and procedural lapses.

Activist Rahul Easwar’s wife, Deepa, has strongly criticised the police action against her husband, alleging inconsistent charges, procedural lapses and an attempt to silence him as the high-profile case involving suspended Congress MLA Rahul Mamkoottathil intensifies.

Speaking to reporters, Deepa accused the police of shifting allegations and mishandling the investigation from the outset.

Rahul Easwar was remanded to judicial custody for allegedly defaming the complainant in the sexual assault case against MLA Rahul Mamkoottathil.

“It’s very unfair because the police have been dilly-dallying,” she said, claiming that the first accusation against Easwar, that he had disclosed the identity of the survivor, collapsed once investigators realised “it was not true”.

She said that after abandoning that line of accusation, officers invoked a non-bailable offence, alleging that he had made a “sexually coloured remark”.

According to her, even the police “didn’t know what exactly a sexually coloured remark is.”

Deepa further alleged that the basic procedure was not followed during her husband’s arrest.

“The worst thing is that they didn’t even give us a notice. They just came in one fine evening and told him to come along,” she said.

Asserting that Easwar did not resist the police, she added, “Rahul didn’t say he won’t come along or anything. I went with him. Who cooperates like that for a notice, but we cooperated that much. We even handed over the laptop because it’s a laptop.”

She suggested that the police action appeared intended to divert attention from other developments.

“They want to shut him off to take the focus off other things. There is a Sabarimala theft issue and a lot of other things happening, the elections are coming up, so they just want to shut him off,” she said.

“I’m forced to believe so because, after cooperating so much, I don’t understand why bail should be denied,” she said.

Deepa added that Easwar was preparing to go on an indefinite hunger strike and that the family would approach both the sessions court and the High Court for relief.

Her remarks came hours after a Thiruvananthapuram court dismissed Easwar’s bail plea and remanded him to judicial custody till December 15.

Easwar was arrested after the Thiruvananthapuram Cyber Police registered a case for allegedly defaming on social media the woman who had lodged the sexual assault complaint against Mamkoottathil.

Police said the case was registered on the woman’s complaint that her photograph was circulated on social media.

As the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate passed the order after hearing arguments from both sides, the police presented videos and material to claim that Easwar had previously defamed complainants in similar cases.

However, Easwar, in his bail application, denied revealing the survivor’s identity and alleged that the arrest procedure was improper, stating that notice was issued only moments before he was taken into custody.

While being escorted to jail, Easwar told reporters that the police had misled the court and reiterated that he would begin a hunger strike in protest.

“I will observe a hunger strike in jail. I have not shared the complainant’s photographs. Police have lied before the court,” he alleged.

About the Author

Vani Mehrotra

Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.

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