The Crime Branch team investigating the fake voter ID case linked to the Youth Congress election has raided the homes of Youth Congress workers in Adoor, who are loyalists of Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil. As per reports, the probe team is also expected to raid Mamkootathil's own house and seize the phones of Youth Congress members close to him.
Meanwhile, the Crime Branch has issued a notice summoning the MLA for questioning on Saturday in connection with the fake voter ID card case. The decision to interrogate him was made after a voice clip was recovered from the phone of the third accused, Abhinand Vikram. It's understood that Mamkootathil's name was mentioned in a phone conversation related to the alleged voter ID fraud.
A year ago, the Museum Police had also interrogated Mamkootathil regarding the case, but he had claimed innocence and told the media he was only being questioned as a witness.
The fake voter ID case resurfaced just after Mamkootathil resigned as the Youth Congress state president, following accusations from several women that he had sent them obscene messages on social media. In response to the growing allegations, the Congress party suspended him for six months on Monday in an attempt to limit the damage.
The case stems from the alleged creation of fake Election Commission voter ID cards for Youth Congress members ahead of the organisational elections. The Museum Police registered the case in November 2023 based on a complaint filed by the Chief Election Commissioner. Initially, four Youth Congress workers — Abhi Vikram, Feny, Binil Binu, and Vikas Krishna — were arrested in Pathanamthitta.
Police reportedly seized 24 fake ID cards, along with laptops and mobile phones, from their homes. Cyber experts later helped investigators recover deleted files of the forged identity cards from the seized devices.
Also read: Crime Branch summons Palakkad MLA in fake ID case
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